Broken Bonds
by E.Elysium
Summary: Three years can change a lot of things. She pushed the memories out of her mind to start anew. A bond that was ruined can never be repaired, he had no choice but to restart, to regain her trust again. Everything will return to the beginning. SasukeXOC
1. Prologue

There you go! The previous prologue was...alright, let's be honest, TERRIBLE :D So here you go, a brand new one!

**Broken Bonds.**

**Prologue: Learning**

* * *

You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way. Marvin Minsky

* * *

"You've been extremely quiet these days." her voice broke through the silence that enveloped the two of them. Her knees propped up, arms surrounding her bended legs as she laid her chin between her kneecaps.

All around them, surrounded by trees that appeared tall and menacing under the dark sky. She sat with her back against the tree, eyes watching as the avenger of a once prominent and respected clan that was massacred years ago. He did not spare a glance at the girl, his eyes focused on the target on the tree.

"Your point?" his voice was plastic. Like he was hiding something underneath the calm and collected tone. The kunai in his grip glinted in the moonlight as he took a precise aim at the practice target several metres away. With perfect force and accuracy, he twisted into the air and flicked the deadly weapon towards the small black dot at the centre of the swirls of black and white.

A flawless direct hit.

Landing to the ground with minimal sound, he moved agilely towards the target and forced the embedded kunai knives out. Without even sparing a second glance at the female behind him, Uchiha Sasuke replaced the knives back into the pouch. The girl merely stared at his back, unmoving.

"What are you planning Sasuke?" her voice was curious, barely audible, yet it had enough impact on the raven-haired teen. She never saw his expression, but it was resolute, determined.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment or so, before opening them slowly. She never saw him move. And when he did, he was already in front of her. Closer than he had ever been. Her chin was still where it had been, her eyes widened as they locked with the pair of impassive dark orbs.

He lifted a hand and drew it nearer to her, caressing her cheek before slowly sliding to trace the curve of her ear, moving the hair that covered her ear away. She sat there, frozen, helpless and utterly confused. Sasuke moved his head and brushed his cheeks on the surface of hers. This simple action sent her palpitating heart to beat even faster.

With his mouth inches away from her ear, he breathed in softly before releasing the words meant for her, and only her.

"Take care of yourself."

As soon as the words escaped his mouth, he disappeared, like he was never even there. She barely had time to register that he was gone, her mind only processing the words he had just delivered. Her heart had surprisingly stopped when he finished his sentence. She didn't even know what he meant at first, but she knew something was wrong, something felt wrong.

The words slowly sunk in, the hidden meaning slowly surfaced. She found no logic in his words. Or rather, she _refused _to find any sense in them. Her legs refused to move, her arms surrounding her tightened even more as she struggled to gain composure.

Something was wrong.

And by tomorrow, when dawn approaches,

**Nothing will ever be the same again.**

Ashiyata Haruka would never be the same again.

* * *

_Because she loved him, she had to suffer the consequences of an unrequited romance._

_Because she loved him more than he knew, she had to endure the heartache she knew no one would understand. _

_Because she knew he would never love her the same way she loved him, she had to move on._

_But she would never know…_

_That it was because he loved her, he had to end something that never started._

_Because he loved her more than she knew, he had put on a false pretence and break her heart._

_Because he loved her more than he knew it, he would never know how painful it would be for him and her._

* * *

It's been a month since Uchiha Sasuke's betrayal.

_  
__I've learned to stop crying because of you._

Many chose to continue grieving about this news. His admirers could often be seen sulking and complaining around Konoha.

"Naruto…"

_  
__I've learned that some things are just not meant to be…like you and me._

He glanced up at her momentarily, his eyes drained and his shoulders sagged. It was obvious that he had been training twice as hard as he did before. Haruka smiled at him softly, walking across the training field towards him.

"You shouldn't be training so hard, straining yourself right after you are discharged from the hospital is a bad thing."

_  
__I've learned that the only thing I could do now is to move on._

"Haru-chan, I can't… I have to be stronger, much stronger than I am now."

She stood in front of him as he sprawled on the ground, panting heavily as drips of perspiration rolled down the side of his face.

"Its no use if you over exert yourself silly." He grinned sheepishly, but turned into a determined look.

"Don't worry Haru-chan; I'll bring Sasuke back, even if he hates me!"

_  
__I've learned to live not because of you, but to live for purposes that are more meaningful._

"Naruto, There's no need for you to make such promises. I don't need him to come back against his will."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, "What are you saying Haru-chan? Don't you want Sasuke to come back?"

_  
__I've learned to start anew._

"It'll be great if he decides to come back, but I wish for him to come back willingly. Do you understand Naruto-kun? If you force him back, he'll just run away again." Naruto frowned slightly, looking at the ground.

Slowly, Haruka lowered herself and laced her fingers into his, tightening it encouragingly, he looked up at her questioningly.

"Good luck for your training though, for you, for Sakura and for that teme! I'm sure you'll surpass him one day!"

_  
__I've learned so much because you left; I'll learn even more in future…_

Naruto smiled brightly back at her, gripping onto Haruka's hand firmly.

"I won't let you down! Dattebayo!"

_  
__In future, I'll learn to become a girl that you regret letting go._

Prologue End

Thanks for reading!


	2. Reunion

**Broken bonds. ****Chapter 2**

**Reunion**

"Hey hey did you hear?!"

"Huh? Hear what?"

"Geez, you're so slow! Didn't you know! They brought Sasuke Uchiha back!"

* * *

_Some bonds, when broken, take time to heal._

_Some bonds, when broken, can __**never**__ be healed._

* * *

A large crowd had gathered in front of Konoha's gate, people whispering among themselves in hushed tones. News had spread all over the village, saying that Naruto Uzumaki have finally captured and is bringing the sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre back to his home village.

Upon hearing the news, most people started arguments about his return, minority felt that his betrayal had bought shame to the village and deserves to be punished severely. However, majority of the villagers -mostly females- felt that, since Uchiha Sasuke had helped to exterminate the snake sannin Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi, he should be allowed to return to Konoha once again.

Among the people discussing about this issue, there **is** an extremely small number of people who did not indulge themselves into the debates. One such person was Ashiyata, Haruka. She was, in fact, one of the few people who received the news first, thanks to her current job.

Since his betrayal, Haruka had turned to assisting the Hokage alongside Shizune in her duties, almost like a secretary.

When asked why she made such a decision, her reply would be that she was tired of fighting.

That was what she told everyone, but only here closest friends knew that _he_ was the reason behind her choice. Being a ninja probably held too much memories for her.

After all, it **is** the root of her problem.

She wouldn't have met Uchiha Sasuke if she didn't become a ninja.

She wouldn't have developed a crush for him if she had never met Uchiha Sasuke.

She wouldn't be so empty if she had never developed a crush for him.

Yes, there was no denying the fact that she **did **cry when he left, she was heartbroken. But overtime, she got over it. The place where the pain used to be was replaced by something else.

_**Emptiness.**_

She eventually got over it. Time passes by, regardless of whether you smile or frown, so why not smile? This was something that she told herself everyday she wakes up. With a signature smile she wore on her face everyday, she fooled the world.

She fooled the whole world.

* * *

"Haruka." A familiar voice called out, bringing Haruka's attention to the figure.

"Hai?" taking her eyes off her assigned work and directing her gaze at the Hokage.

"You do know about the recent news don't you?" Strangely, Haruka felt her heartbeat quickened slightly. She nodded mutely. "You want me to fetch them here?" She questioned, keeping her smile on her face, though there was something that made her feel uneasy.

"Is that okay with you?" Tsunade asked, her voice filled with a small tint of concern. Haruka's smile grew slightly wider. "Of course! I haven't seen Naruto-kun for a really long time…and…Uchiha-san too…" her voice slowly trailed off. Bowing a little to Tsunade, she turned and started towards the door.

Tsunade shook her head ever so slightly. 'Youths… Always keeping everything to themselves…'

* * *

Perspiration drip off the young blonde's face, wiping them off carelessly, he turned and grinned at his companion brightly. "We're almost there! Look! There're so many people standing there!" he exclaimed joyously. His raven-haired companion merely glanced ahead silently. His wrists were encircled by chakra cuffs.

It didn't take long before they arrive at Konoha's gates. The crowd of people were staring at them, many grinning and cheering. Sasuke's eyes flickered back and forth between the crowd; until his eyes caught a familiar pair of emerald orbs.

There she was, the girl that had came the closest to the Uchiha. She had grown out of the child-like figure. She was definitely taller, her midnight black hair reaching slightly pass her shoulders, swaying gracefully with the mild breeze. Her porcelain face, her smile, her eyes…

She was so different.

Her smile seems to be missing a certain element.

Her eyes were void of any of her real emotions.

And yet, no one seems to notice…

"Haru-chan!" The hyperactive blonde ran towards her, tugging Sasuke along. Naruto stopped right in front of her and held her hand using his own. "Look! I got Sasuke back!" he exclaimed excitedly, bringing her hand towards Sasuke's cuffed ones, lacing the two teenager's hands together.

Her hands were warm, and soft, just like he remembered. Haruka advert her gaze towards him and smiled. Untangling her fingers from his, she held his hand in a more formal way, shaking it up and down.

"Welcome back Uchiha-san."

For a moment, his whole body seemed to turn numb.

**She really had changed.**

She was no longer the girl that would blush and look away whenever he looked into her eyes. No, never once, did she look away from him, she kept a steady gaze. Instead of stammering, she spoke fluently and confidently, though their hands were in contact.

"Ne, Haru-chan. Are you here to welcome us?"

She turned to face him. "Yep! Tsunade-sama sent me here to escort the two of you to her office. We should really get going, wouldn't want to keep her waiting now do we?" She smiled cheerfully.

* * *

She knocked on the door a couple of times, but it was Naruto who spoke for her.

"Tsunade baa-san!!" Haruka could hear Tsunade's almost inaudible groaning before mumbling unhappily for them to come in.

Gently, she pushed the door open and smiled at the Hokage, bowing respectfully. "I brought them here as requested, Tsunade-sama." Moving towards the Hokage's side, her hands cupped and placed in front of her.

Clearing her throat, Tsunade leaned forward on her desk, her hands supporting her chin. "Uchiha Sasuke, sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre, killer of S-class criminals Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi, classified as missing-nin a few years ago." She stopped and stared at Sasuke, as if waiting for him to show any reaction. When he didn't say or show anything, she sighed wearily and continued,

"What do you suggest I do with you?"

Sasuke stared hard at Tsunade, his expression unreadable. Realizing that she would never get an answer out from him, Tsunade turned and faced Haruka, "What do you think Haruka?"

Haruka raised an eyebrow, tilted her head to one side and pointed a finger at herself. "Me?" Tsunade nodded firmly, allowing her to answer. Haruka turned her head slightly and looked at Sasuke, her gaze unwavering.

Just then, a certain pink-haired slammed the door open, her face flushed, expression tensed, with sweat running down her face. Scanning the room for a second, her eyes locked with Sasuke's.

"Sa…suke-kun?"

"Sakura, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be training the new technique I thought you."

Abruptly, Sakura turned her head and looked at her sensei. Breathing several times, she regained her composure and bowed. "I'm sorry, I just…wanted to see Sasuke-kun…They told me that he was in the Hokage's office…" her voice faltered mid-way, "W…what are his punishments, Tsunade-sama?"

Haruka smiled at her softly, "His punishment hasn't been decided yet, Tsunade-sama is still considering."

Sakura seemed to have calmed down a little more, though she was anxious - it was apparent from the momentary frown that flickered across her face. "B…but Sasuke-kun hasn't done anything bad right? He shouldn't be punished! He saved Konoha by killing Orochimaru an-"

"Sakura." Tsunade's voice broke out, silencing her student immediately. Turning her head back at Haruka, she continued. "Where were we just now?"

Haruka panicked inwardly; she needed a flawless one that would deal minimal damage to both parties.

"I don't think that I am in any position to give any suggestions. Since Tsunade-sama is unable to make a decision now, how about keeping Uchiha-san under surveillance for the time being, until a suitable punishment is given?"

Tsunade seemed to have thought about it for a while, before swivelling her chair back to face the ex-Team 7. "We'll go with that…for now." Sakura and Naruto's face lit up visibly, Sakura thanking the Hokage profusely while Naruto shouted victoriously, his fist high in the air. Sasuke, however, kept his eyes on Haruka. He was confused, why did she appear nonchalant of his existence if she didn't hate him? If she hated him, why did she help?

Haruka smiled inwardly. Knowing that if her friends were happy, she would be content. This was how she covered up the emptiness in her heart. She allowed herself to steal a glance at Sasuke, only to find that he was staring at her. There was, however, no denying the fact that part of her came up of this idea with the intention to help him.

"I will be putting Naruto, as well as Haruka, in charge of you Sasuke. They will check on you everyday and during this period of time, you are not allowed to come in any contact with people out of Konoha, no missions and no usage of any chakra, is that clear?"

Sasuke, realising the new requirement, nodded slightly. Sakura pouted, obviously rather downcast by the arrangement. She didn't protest, knowing fully well that Tsunade wanted her to focus on more important things.

Besides, Sasuke being alright was more than enough for the pink-haired kunoichi.

* * *

_Everything comes to an end._

_But every end marks a new beginning._

* * *

End of Chapter 1

Author's Notes I wanna make Sakura a potential 'threat' for the OC, mainly because i really have nothing against her sides, she seems rather mature in the manga when she's 15/16 :)

Preview for Chapter 2  
"Sakura-chan? Ano… are you alright?"

An awkward silence followed, Naruto stared at his team mate's back intently.

"He… still likes her doesn't he?" She asked softly.

He kept quiet, tongue-tied and caught in the middle. Helping Haruka would hurt Sakura… But helping Sakura would hurt Haruka too… Scratching the back of his head, he spoke warily.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Hm…?"

"…erm…"

"…?"


	3. False Pretence

I owe nothing but the original character Haruka :)

**Broken bonds. Chapter 3**

**False Pretence**

"So, how have you been?" Sakura chimed cheerily. As usual, the only response she received was silence.

After the meeting with the Hokage, Haruka and Team 7 were sent out of the office. The three of them were given a day off to catch up on things with their old friend. Sakura, who seemed suddenly energized, was attempting to engage her crush in a conversation. Surprisingly, even Naruto made an effort to talk to him. The only one left was Haruka, who merely watched them talk, smiling at their jokes every once in a while.

It was just like the old times.

Though he didn't say it, Sasuke had to admit that a part of him did missed such moments. It was annoying, to hear Sakura and Naruto's constant blabbering, but it did provided him with a warm feeling.

Almost like a family.

* * *

"We're here!!" Naruto shouted, his voice loud enough to wake the dead.

"Quiet down Naruto! You're disturbing the others!"

There they were, right in front of the Sasuke's old apartment. Looking at it aroused a familiar feeling of home. This was where he used to live, where he witnessed his parent's deaths, and where he gave up Konoha for power.

Haruka stopped in front of the house, turning to her friends. "Well, I should get going…" Naruto pouted childishly. Haruka continued quickly, before he had a chance to say anything.

"There's still plenty of work to be done. You guys can take this opportunity to catch up on old times."

Waving back at them, Haruka turned and strutted off. Something made Sasuke uneasy, looking at her back slowly drifting further and further away from him…

_**It feels like she had completely given up on him**_**.**

_Just like that night…_

Beside him, his two friends eyed at Sasuke worriedly. Naruto frowned, though often being labelled as dense and, at times, slow, he could feel that his best friend still held feelings for Haruka. Despite his eagerness to help, Naruto could never convince Haruka to change her mindset when it came to Sasuke. Their conversations often ended with Haruka changing the topic which, often, worked. It did't take a genius to realize that ramen was the key to Naruto's heart.

Sakura, who stood between Sasuke and Naruto, could feel the invisible tension between Haruka and Sasuke. Haruka hadn't really talked to Sasuke, but she didn't seem to avoid him at all. Sakura treated Haruka as a friend, though she used to feel a slight tint of jealousy over her relationship with her crush.

There was no denying that she did admired her to a certain extent, how she was able to pick herself up right after she fell, her optimistic view towards life, and how she was able to keep calm during any emergencies.

There was something wrong between the two of them, something that both Naruto and Sakura couldn't help but feel worried…

* * *

Haruka sighed heavily, her pace slow yet constant. Tsunade had given her specific instructions to stay with Team 7, and more importantly, with Sasuke for the rest of the day. Though holding much respect for the Hokage, she wasn't able to carry out the given task.

_**She would have suffocated to death if she had stayed any longer.**_

She was disappointed. No, she wasn't supposed to feel this way; she wasn't supposed to have her heart beat so fast. The feeling was all too familiar.

**The feeling of falling in love.**

Haruka shook her head vigorously. She wouldn't allow herself to fall in love with Uchiha Sasuke again. She had suffered too much just to get nothing in return. She shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't allow her life to be messed up by one emotion.

"What are you doing standing there all alone?"

Haruka snapped back to reality, turning to face her speaker.

"Here to see Uchiha-san?"

Kakashi nodded a little, his eyes not leaving his book. Haruka sighed, visibly irritated by the sight of the book itself Kakashi was holding on to. Noting the change in her tone, Kakashi lifted his gaze off his book and peered at Haruka curiously.

"You coming?"

Haruka shook her head, her eyes on the ground. Inhaling another breath, Kakashi closed his book shut and strolled towards Haruka casually, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. She lifted her head and raised an eyebrow questioningly when he patted her head warmly. Though covered by the mask on his face, she managed to trace out the outline of his smile.

_Morale support._

Haruka smiled back him. With that, Kakashi turned and started towards Sasuke's house, waving an arm towards her lazily.

* * *

_"True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen."  
-La Rochefoucauld_

* * *

"It's clean isn't it Sasuke-teme? Sakura-chan came to clean every week!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully while Sakura blushed slightly. Sasuke glanced around the place several times, memories flooding into his mind instantly.

Naruto, bored with the silence, ushered his two friends into the house, where Naruto and Sakura made random conversations with Sasuke. But he wasn't listening to any of them… none of it really mattered to him now.

"You're worried about Haru-chan aren't you?"

Sasuke turned his head and glanced at the pink-haired kunoichi, his eyes betrayed no emotion. Sakura fidgeted nervously, her fingers intertwined and avoided his steady gaze. Even Naruto lost his usual hyperactive self. When no one spoke, Sakura continued, her voice filled with uncertainty.

"Do…do you want to-"

"No."

He regretted it the moment the word escaped his mouth. If he hadn't said it, he wouldn't feel so… regretful. And if he hadn't said it, he wouldn't have to deal with Naruto's outburst too…

"Quit acting cool idiot! Go see her if-"

"Nobody said I wanted to see her, don't go around making assumptions." He retorted coldly.

Naruto was obviously more than agitated. Fists curled up tightly, he rose up from the couch. "Why you-", his actions were stopped when Sakura reached out and grabbed his wrist. Startled, Naruto turned and faced Sakura, who held a pained expression, her eyes not leaving Sasuke's figure.

_After all these years…_

Sakura slowly stood up, her grip on Naruto's wrist slowly slid off.

_Everything changed…_

"Sasuke-kun… Haru-chan is usually at Konoha's hospital with the warded patients. If…if you want to see her anytime, make sure you bring Naruto along. You're still under surveillance."

_She kept her hopes high, wishing for him to finally notice her…_

"Let's go Naruto…"

_She thought that…maybe…just maybe… a new change…_

_A new start…_

_Might change things…_

Stepping out of the Uchiha compound with Naruto tagging behind, Sakura kept her face straight ahead. Her heart…it ached.

_Things might change…_

_She'll work hard… she'll preserve… and then… maybe things will change._

"Sakura-chan? Ano… are you alright?"

An awkward silence followed, Naruto stared at his team mate's back intently.

"He… still likes her doesn't he?" She asked softly.

He kept quiet, tongue-tied and caught in the middle. Helping Haruka would hurt Sakura… But helping Sakura would hurt Haruka too… Scratching the back of his head, he spoke warily.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Hm…?"

"…erm…"

"…?"

"A…are you… hungry…?"

As if right on cue, his stomach rumbled monstrously. Sakura smiled, he could always lighten up a tense atmosphere. She tilted her head back to face him, her mood much better than before.

"Ramen?"

_No._

_She had worked extremely hard all these years, just to wait for him to come back and acknowledge her existence._

_Her heart was just as broken as Haruka's when he left._

_**Her love for him was just as deep as Haruka's**_

_She wasn't going to give up just like that__**.**_

Unknown to them, Team Seven's sensei was watching their interactions thoughtfully. Scratching the back of his head, he could only manage out two words, the lazy genius' favourite catchphrase.

"How troublesome…"

* * *

His first morning back in Konoha.

Sunlight shone strongly into his room, brightening up his usual dark and depressing bedroom. Stirring slightly, Sasuke slowly sat up, blinking several times to adjust his eyes to accommodate the brightness.

Going through his usual routine felt…different. Strangely familiar, yet oddly distant at the same time. No longer did he wake up feeling negatively. He felt…light-hearted.

* * *

The door knocked a few times, **gently. **'There was absolutely no way that would have been that dobe,' he thought to himself, approaching the door lazily. 'If it was him, he would be banging the door down and shouting my name hysterically at the top of his voice.'

Swinging the door open, he stared at the figure in front of him. Haruka. There wasn't really much surprise, considering the fact that she didn't even bother to hide her chakra from him. "Ohayou Uchiha-san! I've brought you breakfast!" She smiled happily, bringing her right hand up to revealing a white plastic bag containing what seemed to be something familiar.

'Ramen…? In the morning…must be that baka's influence…' Opening the door wider, Sasuke stepped aside and watched as Haruka strolled past him casually.

Placing the ramen on the counter, Haruka twirled around and faced Sasuke, the smile never leaving her face for even a moment. "Since Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan are usually busy with missions and training, I'll be coming over everyday to supervise you for awhile unless either of them is free." She replied to his unanswered question as he started on his food.

They stopped talking for what seemed like forever. He liked quietness, but this was different. This wasn't the kind of silence that he used to enjoy with her. This was the kind of extremely awkward silence. She sat directly opposite him, her focus outside the window.

The suffocating moment triggered Sasuke's voice.

"Why…?"

"Pardon?" She asked, turning her attention from the window to the teenager in front of her.

"What's the meaning of 'Uchiha-san'?" he repeated his question, all this time poking his ramen absentmindedly.

Her smile faded into a thin line across her mouth, her eyes dropping to the counter. Pondering over the question for a few moments, she answered him unsurely.

"I feel that I should be more polite to someone who has helped Konoha."

_Awful excuse…_

He raised his head and locked eyes with Haruka. She stared right back at him. Something that she had never done in the past. She wasn't bold enough; she wasn't mature enough to keep her feelings under control.

**That was all in the past.**

Breaking their contact, Haruka hopped off the seat effortlessly and walked towards the living room. Sasuke followed suit.

As he approached her, her back facing him, he finally understood the feeling of being ignored. All the girls he rejected harshly in the past, how he would always make sure that their hopes were trampled fully. Never once, had he realise how devastated they really were, how heart-broken they were watching his back faint slowly out of their sight.

His mind unconsciously wandered back to the way he used to treat Haruka. They didn't exactly have friendly interactions. Truth to be told, Haruka wasn't anyone special to him from the beginning. She, like most girls, was labelled as a fan girl to him from the start.

This was perhaps what most, if not all, girls in the academy were thinking, and no doubt, many were still thinking of it now.

But there was one thing that distinguished her from all the other girls. She was a realistic thinker. She always followed him, but she was never pushing herself forcefully towards the Uchiha. She proudly declared that she liked him, but she didn't spend all day thinking about him. She treated him like a human, a friend.

She would never give him chocolates or love notes because she knew he would never accept them.

She would always sit quietly while watching him train because she knew he didn't like to be disturbed.

She would never cry or show him she was weak whenever he insulted or upset her.

Subconsciously, Sasuke started to take a liking to this girl, it started out as a companion, then a friend, and maybe…

Maybe it had turned into something more without him knowing.

While Sasuke was busy entertaining his own thoughts, Haruka was feeling slightly confused. She had prepared herself before coming here, what to say and how to act. But the moment she saw him, her mind just went…blank…

"_Tsunade-sama… Ca…can I be excused from…"_

"_From babysitting Sasuke?"_

_Haruka twitched slightly from his name, but nodded weakly. Tsunade sighed heavily and pushed aside her paper works, silently thanking the brunette-haired kunoichi for giving her an excuse to slack off._

"_You still can't get over him can you?" She smirked, clearly amused. Haruka tensed visibly, her hands flew up in front of her in a weak attempt to object, stuttering nervously. Tsunade chuckled softly, hands motioning for her to approach. Haruka obliged, stopping short in front of her desk._

"_Its no use running Haru-chan. I'm not going to softened up this time. I want you to think about it, if you truly want to start anew, you have to truly get over him. Talk to him."_

_Haruka groaned in distress while Tsunade's smirk grew wider. Murmuring a greeting, Haruka bowed and exited the office reluctantly. _

_Once out of sight, the blonde Hokage eyed her surrounding slowly. She reached down swiftly to her drawer and fished out a bottle of sake. Shizune was out on an errant and Haruka was off to visit Sasuke._

_Perfect._

Haruka inhaled heavily, her hands clenched tightly by her sides. She turned around and gazed at Sasuke, who merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"We need to talk."

End of Chapter 2

Preview of Chapter 3

"I'm sorry…"

She froze. He…he apologized? Was he expecting her to forgive him?

Something stirred in her, emotions that were buried for so long erupted from her inner self, running through her veins. She wasn't happy. She wasn't relief. She wasn't angry.

She was furious.

Using every ounce of strength she had, Haruka flicked her left arm out of his hold, brought both of her hands to his chest and shoved him away with all her might. Once out of his grasp, she brought up her hand and dealt a stinging blow on his cheek.


	4. Scars

I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters. Haruka, however, belongs to me:)

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 4 - Scars**

* * *

"True Love burns the brightest. But the brightest flames leave the deepest scars."

* * *

Haruka inhaled heavily. _Alright, go! _She spun around to meet Sasuke's questioning gaze.

Thump.

Thump thump.

_Kami-sama…I can't do it…_

* * *

He watched her intently; felt her tensed up the moment their eyes locked. Sasuke wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not, though he could also feel his heart beat faster than usual. How long has it been since he had truly taken a good look at this girl in front of him.

He had lost her once, took her for granted. He hated the feeling of regretting. Killing his aniki was his biggest regret. He can't afford to lose someone truly important to him again. Heck, he was even prepared to apologize. Uchiha Sasuke was never one to apologize to people, mainly because of his strong sense of pride. He knew that apologizing would not guarantee success, but he was willing to take the risk.

"Forget it… I got to go." Haruka sighed inwardly, head hanging low and walking awkwardly past him. Their shoulders brushed past briefly and Haruka almost choked in surprise. Why such a small contact had such a big impact on her, she had no idea. Sasuke's chest tightened uncomfortably.

_Go._

Tossing away every uncertainty and doubt that held him back before, Sasuke reached out and circled her wrist securely in his hand and, without a second's hesitation, spun her around and pulled her securely into his arms.

* * *

Haruka could only remember her walking past him before everything became a blur. She felt something grabbed her hand, felt everything in front of her move, and before she knew it, her head collided with something – or someone. Instinctively, Sasuke's free arm snaked around her tiny waist, pulling her closer and his other hand slid down from her wrist to intertwine with hers.

Haruka could barely catch on, the moment she felt something rest around his waist, she had frozen instantly. She felt something weigh down on the side of his shoulder and warm breath tickling her bare neck. The rational part of her brain screamed for her to break free, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Every part of her that came in contact with his touch burned. It killed her inside, yet it was reviving her soul. The remains of her broken self were slowly piecing themselves together, yet it was trampling into even little pieces.

This comforting feeling, it seemed to have filled up her heart. She felt safe again, like she could rely on this… this warmth. This warmth belonged to Sasuke…

"L…Let go… I can't-"

"I'm sorry…"

If Haruka could stiffen more, she would have turned into a statue. Did he… apologize? Something clicked in her head, sending her back to reality. Was he expecting her to forgive him, after abandoning her alone? After making her suffer? Was he expecting everything to return to normal just because he apologized?

Emotions that were buried deep inside started spilling out. Emotions that she had desperately tried to keep in control and showed no one. All self control she had were forced away by these emotions. She wasn't happy, she wasn't sad, nor was she angry.

She was **furious.**

Gathering whatever strength she could muster in her current state, Haruka flicked her intertwined hand violently from his grasp, bringing both hands to his chest and shoving him away like a pest. Eyes flashing dangerously, Haruka gathered whatever remaining strength she had and brought it down to Sasuke's pale cheek, striking it mercilessly across his face. The force of the blow tilted Sasuke's head to one side.

Both kept silent for a short while, Haruka with her hand still in mid-air while Sasuke made no movement at all, his head still facing the side.

"Don't." Haruka growled dangerously through gritted teeth. Turning swiftly around, Haruka stopped at the entrance of the room. Looking over her shoulder slightly, she continued, her voice somewhat calmer, yet the ghostly low tone could send anyone shivering in fear.

"We can never be like what we were in the past anymore."

Letting the words linger in the air, she uttered nothing more and left.

* * *

Sasuke brought a hand tenderly up to his cheek, closing his eyes and letting his hand linger on it. He had expected something like that, but was still confused beyond words. Uchiha Sasuke had suffered countless injuries, from minor cuts to life-threatening ones. Yet…

It was this hit, this blow that didn't even seem to have any chakra applied to it, that hurts the most.

It hurt from his cheek, right down to his heart.

* * *

Haruka walked on the streets aimlessly, eyes seemingly listless. Her mind was in a whirl; the hug, the apology, the slap, all happened so fast that she barely had enough time to register what was going on. The hug, that warmth and security, it was unbecoming, it was wrong…But,

Why did it feel so right?

Unconsciously, Haruka arrived at a familiar training ground. _This was where she used to watch him train. _Memories that were locked inside her mind long ago filled up her thoughts once again. Feet padding on the ground softly, she approached one of the many trees, allowing her hand to reach up and trace the markings.

Kunai marks.

The tree was scarred by several of them, each marking a ninja's hard work and perseverance. Permanent and irremovable, they can only be covered up. Just like memories, they can only be stored away and avoided, but never forgotten.

Haruka allowed her hand to press up on the rough and jagged bark for a short while before pulling away gently. Turning her hand, the palm was visibly reddened from the previous slap she inflicted on Sasuke's cheek.

Sasuke's cheek…

Why had she felt so strongly just now? That slap, all her struggles, her anger, her emotions, all released in that blow. Maybe…just maybe, she had been wanting to do that all along. Her hand was stinging, but the pain wasn't just from her palm.

It hurt from her hand, right down to her heart.

End Chapter 3

Author

I really have no idea whether this is OOC or not, cause I wanted him to expect the reaction, but confused over why did it hurt so much. Kinda weird...heheh. And I'm probably going to turn this into a short series, and maybe post occasional one-shots on little moments they share, just for the fun of it :)

Preview for Chap 4

Walking out of the children's ward, Haruka sighed in relief. She could finally go ho-

"Kakashi?"

He glanced from his book momentarily, smiling slightly behind his mask. "Hey."

Haruka frowned in confusion, she was glad to see her friends, but not in the hospital. "are you hurt or anything? Why are you here?" Kakashi eyed the short brunette lazily, taking his own sweet time in answering. "I'm just here to see you."


	5. Nosy Businesses

* * *

Except for Haruka, none of the Naruto Characters belong to me

This is kinda late, but I'm really grateful for all the reviews I've received so far -

Thanks alot to imm0rtal for every review you typed for the three chapters :)

Also really thankful to Lighting Wings, vampireprincessofempire, MariFerolla and lollipop for the reviews :P I'm all hyped up and motivated!

Link to the banner for the story is on my homepage..thingy

* * *

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 5 Nosy Businesses**

He hadn't seen her for at least a week.

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were the only people he had seen these few days. They would tell him that Tsunade was keeping Haruka busy with the hospital and such.

Like he cared.

He always felt strangely disappointed, knowing it wasn't her visiting that day. In this short period of time, he was able to distinguish who was at the door without noting their chakra or seeing them.

If the door was 'knocked' forcefully with someone shouting "Teme! Open the damn door!" No questions asked, definitely Naruto.

If the door was knocked eagerly with someone cheerfully calling his name, then it was definitely the pink-haired medic-nin, Sakura.

Kakashi, however, didn't quite grasp the concept of 'knocking first'. Not that he even bothered to use the door. He would barge in from nowhere with a casual greeting and his favourite book in his hand.

And because only two people were appointed to watch over him everyday, he was forced to see Naruto everyday. Today was no exception, except for the fact that of all the days to visit, his silver haired sensei had decided to bug him today; right after Naruto had finally left.

When he was feeling especially irritated.

"Yo."

Sasuke was tempted to groan in misery to release some of his irritation, but decided against it. He merely glanced over his shoulder to acknowledge his presence. He had wanted to voice out his opinion about his way of entering.

Then again, it wouldn't make much difference anyway.

"What do you want?"

Sasuke was sitting down, back on the wall with a hand propped up by a bent knee while the other laid flat on the ground. Kakashi stood next to him, back leaning on the wall lazily. One hand stuffed in his pocket while the other held on to his novel.

Kakashi sighed at his student's behaviour, his eyes not leaving the book to even look at Sasuke. "Everyone's worried about you, you know that?" Sasuke continued glaring at the floor indifferently.

"I take it something happened the last time Haruka visited?"

This time, Sasuke grunted in response, tightening his fist in agitation. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask at his reaction. It wasn't exactly 'social', but at least he had hit the nail and got a little reaction out of the Uchiha.

"I thought so."

'Was it really that obvious?' Sasuke thought sourly, frowning to nothing in particular. Kakashi glanced at the raven-haired from the corner of his eye curiously. Out of his three students, he was the most difficult understand, not that anyone had actually succeeded in doing it.

"Haruka's unpredictable and different, not to mention stubborn. Things you do to your fan girls don't work on her. You should know that."

Sasuke lifted his head and stared at his sensei, eyes boring into his. He knew what kind of a person Haruka was, but he hadn't had any experience with girls before. Perhaps…

He should ask Kakashi for his opinion?

Sasuke mentally slapped himself for his stupidity. Was he really helpless to the point that he was going to ask some pervert who reads pornography openly for advice? Haruka was different from average girls, but he was positive that she wouldn't fall for any of his sensei's tricks.

She was unique, and that's what he liked about her.

She was unique, and that's what made it so difficult to come up with an idea.

To think that the all mighty Uchiha Sasuke who was feared by many was now sulking in a corner of his house for a girl who had slapped him across the face not long ago. Did she really find him so repulsive?

His face betrayed no emotion, but the jounin knew that he was probably arguing with himself secretly as he watched him with mild amusement. Snapping his book shut, Kakashi pushed himself off the wall with ease and turned to Sasuke, his eyes curving upwards happily.

"Well, I'll leave you to think about how you want to deal with Haruka then." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the confused teen to ponder about the new found problem. Before Kakashi's appearance, he was debating on whether he should just leave things as they are. But his sensei's visit made him solve this problem.

He couldn't give up; he needed repair the broken bond. Killing his aniki was already his first regret. He wouldn't allow himself to make another grave mistake again.

And this led to another more complicated problem. How was he going to repair this broken bond? Strangely, Sasuke was rather thankful that his sensei visited, helping to clear some of his doubts. Yet, he added a new burden to him. And he left after saying just a mere three sentence…

And that irritating gaze the copycat ninja directed at him when he was thinking, it was all too familiar. It was the look he often gave in the past… when…

When he was gloating at their misery…

…

…

…

He did it on purpose.

Uchiha Sasuke could only curse mentally in annoyance.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kakashi was strolling ideally on the streets of Konoha, scratching the back of his head slyly. His 'mission' was already halfway completed. But here comes the harder part; though it's Sasuke, he was a boy after all. But talking to a girl, is a totally different story.

He sighed heavily, 'Why did he even agree on this in the first place…?'

* * *

"Onee-chan! Matte!!"

"Are you afraid, Hashi-chan?"

"Mou! I was just…just not ready." The young boy defended weakly, desperately trying to pry his hands off the teenage kunoichi.

Little Hashi was never fond of injections, but he wasn't going to show his fear in front of his favourite onee-chan. Haruka smiled in amusement, eyeing the five-year old casually. She has been through this countless times with countless kids.

And practice makes perfect.

Rubbing the boy's upper arm repeatedly, Haruka chuckled lightly, making Hashi blush in embarrassment before turning away. Taking the chance, Haruka slipped the needle stealthily nearer to his arm.

"Oh really? Then are you ready now?"

Studying the brunette warily out of the corner of his eye, Hashi swallowed tensely and nodded, shutting his eyes tightly and clutching the bed sheets to ease his tenseness while waiting for the pain to surge through him.

It never came.

Daring to open his eyes ever-so-slightly, Hashi peered towards Haruka's direction slowly, only to find that she was already wiping off the blood. Hashi eyes widened in confusion.

"Wha…?"

Haruka grinned at her little patient brightly. "Is it painful?" Hashi shook his head quickly, his eyes still wide in surprise. Haruka laughed, tapping his nose affectionately. "Don't open your eyes so wide, you don't want your eyeballs popping out anytime soon do you?"

Hashi blinked a few times, confusion written all over his face. "When did you insert that pointy thing in?" he questioned innocently, tilting his head to one side. Haruka smiled, lifting herself off the bed while re-arranging the equipments back in order. Turning around to face her patient, her placed her index finger gently on her closed lip and winked mischievously.

"That's a secret."

Walking out of the children's ward, Haruka sighed in relief. She could finally go ho-

"Kakashi?"

He glanced from his book momentarily, smiling slightly behind his mask. "Hey."

Haruka frowned in confusion, she was glad to see her friends, but not in the hospital. "are you hurt or anything? Why are you here?" Kakashi eyed the short brunette lazily, taking his own sweet time in answering. "I'm just here to see you."

She was confused before. But now, she was lost.

* * *

"So?" Haruka asked, turning her head to look at Kakashi curiously, "What do you want to talk about?"

After much brainstorming and brain-racking, the infamous copycat ninja finally came up with what he thought to be the most suitable approach. Haruka liked to come straight to the point, and leaned more towards the 'not into frilly pretty dresses' category.

Let operation 'Nosy busybody' part two begin.

"You haven't been doing your job looking after Sasuke have you?"

Straight to the point.

Kakashi was actually hoping to catch Haruka off guard; it would make things easier if her mind hadn't made up any firm decisions yet. But unfortunately, just as he had predicted, Haruka was no bimbo.

Or she knew how to hide her feelings well.

"I'm busy with hospital and Tsunade-sama."

"and avoiding Sasuke." Kakashi added in. Haruka narrowed her eyes at Kakashi in irritation while he chuckled, clearly amused. Haruka sighed in defeat, dropping her head low.

"I slapped him, and I'm not regretting it one bit."

If he wasn't an experienced jounin, Kakashi would've choked on his own salivation in surprise. Instead, he only slowed down on his tracks and glanced at Haruka, willing only a small tint of surprise to surface.

'Damn…this is going to be harder than he thought.'

"Dare I ask why?" Haruka silently contemplated the question, what was she supposed to tell him? "To remind him to move on." she finally answered.

Kakashi arched an eyebrow in mock curiosity. "To remind him to move on, or remind yourself to stay away from him?"

This time Haruka groaned openly in distress. "Do you really have to ask?" Haruka's house was already coming to view, he didn't have much time. Time for the guilt approach.

"He wasn't there when you needed him. You aren't there when he needs you now. Revenge?"

Haruka stared at Kakashi in surprise, then scoffed lightly. "How much is he paying you? You're not normally so caring." He chuckled lightly, stopping right in front of her house. "Arigatou Kakashi, for seeing me home."

Kakashi merely smiled, waving his hand casually. He was supposed to meet a certain _blonde _a few hours ago, but chose to spend his time carrying out his mission. Oh no, he wasn't going to meet up with him just yet. Mission part B was a failure, and he needed back-up from none other than the Godaime Hokage.

End of Chapter 4

* * *

Preview for Chapter 5

Her heartbeat tuned itself to a soft and calm pace. The night was exceptionally bright, the moon illuminating more light than usual.

"You're not supposed to be out without supervision" she whispered as softly as possible, not wanting to break the beautiful peacefulness.


	6. Simple Answer to Complicated Question

Weeee! alright...firstly, I own none of the Naruto characters except Haruka:)

Thank you salaxyooh! for the motivational review. I'm all hyped up.:)

Thank you Jan Lee! for the uber useful review! I really appreciated it:)

and lastly, Thank you imm0rtal! I'll get more Uchiha in the next chapter:)

Enjoy :D

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 6 Simple answers to complicated questions**

Tsunade folded her arms to her chest and leaned back on the chair casually, her eyes observed the jounin in front of her warily. His posture was slouched, scratching his head nervously with the other tucked safely inside his pocket.

'It was so darn obvious he failed his mission…' The Hokage thought tiredly. Tsunade was already on the verge of going mad. How many times had she dreamt of standing up, scooping all the papers, and tossing them out of the window?

"Anything you need Kakashi?"

'This was going to be a long talk…'

* * *

It was close to midnight.

Sasuke laid flat on his bed, a hand behind his head while the other rested conveniently on his stomach. He was back for less than a month and already losing sleep. Over his sensei's words no less.

He was stuck in his house and ordered not to step out of it without supervision. Not that he wanted to even go out and be stared at like an experiment. He was well aware that there were still many who were not too optimistic about him here in Konoha.

Haruka was probably one for instance.

Sasuke really had no idea why he was so disturbed by her appearance _and_ disappearance. He was a dead man, no more goals, desires, or ambitions he longed to fulfil. Returning brought him indescribable feelings, was it relief? Perhaps so, he did not blame her for the slap, he deserved it.

* * *

"_What?!"_

_Tsunade stared at her lazily, Haruka's reaction was predictable. Sighing heavily, she leaned forward, eyes fixed with a new charge of determination._

_Determination to get this over with…_

"_You are relieved of all of your duties here in the office until further notice." She repeated more firmly. Haruka's face changed from blank to utter confusion._

"_What…?"_

"_I understand you have not been carrying out the task I have assigned you dutifully?"_

"_What?"_

"_Taking care of Sasuke, you haven't visited him for quite some time have you?"_

_Apparently, Haruka had finally regained enough of her sense to think. Her list of culprits narrowed down to just merely three suspects._

_All from Team Seven - coincidentally._

_Sakura was not one to talk excessively about matters that did not concern her. She was slightly more considerate than most people, and the last time Haruka checked, she did not really offend the medic-nin in any way._

_That left just two suspects. _

_Naruto would never let this out, not to the Hokage. He was the type of person who would come up with silly solutions, like locking them in a closet or something._

_Kakashi, on the other hand, was a lot more than suspicious._

_Haruka narrowed her eyes in irritation._

_**Definitely Kakashi… **__People get nosier the older the get, the statement proved valid in this situation indeed._

_Too bemused to realise the amused expression plastered on the Hokage's face, she was finally pulled out of her thoughts by Tsunade's deliberate stentorian cough. She blinked several times before shooting the blonde-haired woman another blank look._

"_You are allowed to help out at the hospital," Tsunade continued, "however; your main task would be to take care of Sasuke."_

_Haruka frowned dejectedly, this was such a rotten day… She made no point to object or fight back, Tsunade was Tsunade, there was no way to win an argument with the sake obsessed woman, she had learned this through the years spent by the Hokage's side._

"_Hai, Tsunade-sama."_

_Tsunade studied the teenager mutely, _

"_What do you really want Haruka?"_

_The raven-haired kunoichi returned the Hokage's question with a blank stare. "Nani…?"_

"_Think about it, what do you really want? Do you really wish to become enemies with him?"_

_Biting her lips nervously her, eyes dropping to scan the concrete tiles on the floor. "What…do I…want…?" she mumbled softly to herself._

Haruka sighed wearily, hands interlocked behind her back loosely. This was her last night helping Tsunade; her main task at hand now was to keep watch on Sasuke.

At least until Tsunade was content with torturing her.

There was barely anyone left on the street, everything soft and serene. Only such times, only now would she will her mask crack and allow herself to feel the breeze. She stopped herself halfway and her eyes closed involuntarily, withdrew into blackness. She treasured such moments of silence more than anything.

Perhaps due to the fact that she was naturally insecure.

Her heartbeat tuned itself to a soft and calm pace. The night was exceptionally bright, the moon illuminating more light than usual. Stars glistened and shone like fireflies, contrast to the black sky.

"_What do you want Haruka?"_

'What do I want…?'

"_Do you really wish to become enemies with him?"_

'Enemies…with him?'

It started with a feeling, a feeling that left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. It started out sweet, though he ignored her most of the time, she was content with just seeing him well. When the fight between Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan broke out, his already beaten mood took a worst turn, he snapped, allowed his emotions to get the better of him. The bitter feeling started to surface, building invisible barriers around him, not to keep others out, but to keep himself in.

With his final betrayal to the village, the bitterness took over and consumed all of the sweet feelings, leaving her with nothing but the aftertaste of broken bonds.

The feeling was too deep, too strong; her mind was too young to handle it. If there was anything that she learnt from Sasuke, it was never to trust anyone but yourself. He never allowed anyone in, kept everything to himself, refusing to show his weakness.

Haruka detested this attribute of his character. She refused to let him have the upper hand, refused to let him see her weak without him, refused to let him think she was this pathetic without him near. Unconsciously, she found herself constructing barriers of her own, to never let anyone deem her as a useless fan girl. She wanted to show everyone that she could live even without him.

Her useless attempts to keep her pride took over. In the end, she unknowingly transformed into the type of person she hated the most.

Hypocrites.

"_What do you want Haruka?"_

What did she really want? Her vision blinded by pride all along, refusing to let others think of her as such a pitiable girl. She wanted no sympathy, no pity from outsiders.

'_What I want…'_

Just as quick as her answer came, her body tensed, senses heightened. Someone was near.

"You're not supposed to be out without supervision," she whispered as softly as possible, not wanting to break the beautiful peacefulness.

Sasuke Uchiha made no comment or response to her statement, merely approached her from behind silently. He glanced at her shortly before turning his attention to the moon. The night held great significance in both teens' hearts.

She lost her mother one night.

He lost his entire clan one night.

She left her homeland one night.

He left his child-like personality one night.

She met him one night.

He met her one night.

She broke all bonds with him the night he left Konoha.

And he broke all bonds with everyone the night he left Konoha.

The night was filled with memories, haunting and sweet. They stood there, one behind the other for a long while, reminiscing old times. There was no need for words, no need for explanations or clarifications. Both needed time to settle down, to simplify their thoughts.

To return to four years ago.

"I've been assign to fully focus all my attention to you."

He did not speak or move, not even a twitch. She smiled gently; nothing about him has really changed. Silent, unpredictable,

And strangely attracting her to him.

"Are you still angry about the slap?" she questioned amusedly, turning fully to face him. He angled his head and gave her a side-glance, poker-faced and eyes that hardly betrayed any emotion.

She chuckled softly, much to his surprise. She was rather used to his treatment, since she dealt with it on a daily basis a few years ago.

"I'll apologize if you still feel offended in anyway, since I was a little too-"

"No."

She raised a delicate eyebrow at him, while he took a few more moments to observe the thin clouds that attempted to shroud the moon from view. Slowly, he lowered his head and met her curious gaze.

"You did nothing wrong." It was not a statement of superficial console, but of genuine fairness. She did nothing that was too much to ask from an angered person, and he was well aware of that.

She nodded silently, momentarily lost for words. His appearance was unexpected, and she really had no clue on how to communicate with him anymore. Laughing softly, she gazed ideally at the ground.

"I have no idea how to look at you anymore. You've really changed too much."

"Ditto." His reply short and simple. She smiled painfully at his answer, directing her attention at the flickering of the streetlight.

"On. Off. On. Off." She chanted softly, tilting her head side by side with every syllable. He made no response, leaving her to continue.

"Ever changing, just like the world isn't it?" His eyes were on her face. Serene. Calm. Cool. Collected.

Words that she had used to describe him the past.

"I'm not chasing after you anymore." Her head lowered to stare at her hands, studying them as if they were painful memories.

"_Slow down!" She cried out desperately to the faraway figure that was seemingly getting fainter and fainter. The figure came to an abrupt halt, turning to glance at the breathless girl behind him._

"_I said not to be a hindrance to me." He spoke unfeelingly, completely uncaring of her huge panting. She stopped at a tree branch near him, grasping the bark to steady herself. She brushed off the strands of hair that clung onto her sweaty face, before standing up straighter._

"_You know that I don't have that much stamina or speed to counter yours!" she defended, still inhaling and exhaling deeply. He narrowed his eyes in irritation, glaring at the black-haired kunoichi. _

"_If you can't catch me," He turned his back towards her. _

"_Then don't bother trying." With that, he sped on swiftly, leaving her to her own device. She lowered her head dejectedly; his words lingered in the air._

"I'm always chasing. Always chasing after your shadow, trying to catch you." Her eyes closed at this point of time, face etched with sorrow and choked with emotions.

"I'm tired…" she fought down fresh feelings of sorrow and blinked her hidden tears right back into her body, with only a few escaping her struggles to control herself. Wiping away a teardrop with the back of her hand, she turned to Sasuke and forced a faint smile, "I'm not chasing after you anymore."

Everything was clear to her now. They never had a relationship that crossed over the boundaries of friendship. She liked him, but it was an unrequited romance.

Unrequited romances do not give the former any authority or rights to question or object to any action the latter makes.

All this while, Sasuke found nothing to say. There was nothing he could say. Nothing he wanted to say.

'_What I want…'_

She held out her hand, "I want to start anew."

_She held out an outstretched arm and offered it to him. Grinning cheekily, she introduced herself._

"_My name is Ashiyata Haruka, nice to meet you mate!"_

"My name is Ashiyata Haruka, nice to meet you." She smiled warmly, awaiting his reaction.

_He glanced at her for a moment, his eyes travelled slowly down to her hand. Letting out a soft scoff, he offered no acknowledgement. He turned away, unemotional._

"_I see no reason to offer my name to the likes of you."_

He glanced at her for a moment, his eyes travelled down to her hand.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

He did not shake hers, returning his gaze to her face instead. Emerald eyes met black ones, it would all return to the beginning again.

But she wouldn't be the one chasing after him this time.

_Not this time…_

End Chapter 5

Notes...  
Sorry if theres too much focus on the OC... I'll introduce more about the male character in the next chapter:)  
R & R. Thanks for reading

* * *


	7. Babysitting

Disclaimer... I do not own any of the characters in the story, with the exception of OC Haruka, and the new chracter Hashi:)

thank you ani-sand! I'm happy you enjoyed the story, and don't worry, I'll try to update it on a weekly basis! :D

thank you OpaquexSmiles! You gave me tons of motivation to go on with the story too!! I was always worried that the story was progressing a little fast, but thanks for assuring me :D

Lastly, thank you imm0rtal! Heh I'm already typing out a special chapter! Don't worry, I'll post it when I'm done editing! :D

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 7 Babysitting**

"Onee-san!"

That voice was unmistakable. Loud, cheerful and full of energy. Haruka broke into a smile as she entered the ward, barely catching sight of the brunette before he latched onto the teen, hugging the raven-haired.

"You seem well today Hashi-chan."

Hashi lifted his head and beamed proudly at her, hands lightly clutching onto the fabric of Haruka's top.

"Are Okaa-san and Otou-san here yet?" he asked hopefully, hands curled tighter in anticipation. Haruka smiled faded, her head shaking in response to his question. She crouched down to the boy's eye level and her arms lifted to rest on his tiny shoulders.

"Your Okaa-san and Otou-san are coming to get you soon, then you can finally go back home."

The boy's eyes clouded the moment the news crashed onto him. His shoulders sagged in disappointment, head dropping to stare at his bare feet. His smile curved down to a slight frown. The previously light atmosphere darkened slightly, as if the mood of the boy and the atmosphere in the room where intertwined together.

"Are they really going to come for me?" his little voice whispered softly, as if all energy in him had been sucked out by the mere news. Haruka squeezed on his shoulders encouragingly, head tilting lower to meet his gaze.

"Of course!"

Hashi allowed a small smile despite his dampened mood, not wanting to worry the dark-haired girl unnecessarily. Haruka smiled, hands sliding down to hold his hands affectionately. "Have you been behaving today?" she asked, changing the topic casually.

"…Uh…y…yeah…" his voice faltered slightly as his eyes turned and stared at every little spot in the room. Haruka narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Not faraway from the ward, in the staffs' lounge, loud screams and hollers escaped the closed doors and echoed through the long stretch of hallways. Patients frowned and eyebrows were raised in utter confusion.

Behaving indeed…

* * *

Haruka breathed a sigh of relief as her body crashed and sunk into the couch casually, head dived into the surface of the furniture. The figure standing at the entrance of the room observed in mild amusement, leaning his weight on the frame.

She seemed to always be uncaring – or oblivious – to the reactions of others brought about by her actions, whatever the reason, Sasuke found the particular character of her personality a rare sight. Shouldn't a proper girl be a little more attentive in her poise and posture in front of others?

While the Uchiha found this strange, a certain individual saw nothing inappropriate about her actions. Heck, her problems are piling up higher than the mountain; she could care less about how unladylike she looked.

After several minutes of 'recuperation', Haruka lazily lifted her head up from the couch and stared at Sasuke dully, eyebrows twitched.

"Quit looking."

"…" he raised an eyebrow at her, face impassive. She frowned at his lack of actions and sighed the second time. Sasuke walked slowly towards the seemingly lifeless girl and sat down on the floor, back against the couch she was on.

Head angled to look behind him a little; he shot a questioning look at the troubled teen. There was nothing left to do in the house, and judging from the mood she was in, even if his requests to go out was granted, he would have to put up with her glum face and unenthusiastic spirit.

The dark-haired teenager pressed both palms onto the sides of her body and gave a push, lifting herself up as she turned to lie on her back. With a third sigh of frustration, she started her drabble of problems.

"_Haruka-san? May I speak to you for a moment?" the placid and soft voice of Konoha's head nurse called out. Haruka turned and met the face of the middle-aged woman silently. The dark-haired kunoichi nodded solemnly. The head nurse was always a gentle but no-nonsense woman who took her job extremely seriously. _

"_Ano…Toshiyo-sama… is there anything you need?" she questioned curiously. The elder woman gazed at the young lady dispiritedly, somewhat reluctant to break the unfortunate news to her._

"_Haruka-san… you do know that there has been a rather large increase in children admitted into the children's ward don't you?" she paused for a moment, continuing only after the teen nodded her head and signalled her to go on. "The beds are being occupied very quickly, and the hospital is taking measures like discharging children that do not have serious problems to make more room."_

_There had been a rather strange sudden increase in children being admitted into the hospital since last week. Tsunade had mentioned that they were getting as many children discharged as possible._

_And Hashi had recovered nearly three days ago…_

"_I understand that that little boy you had been looking after recovered a few days ago?"_

"_Hai…But his parents are still on their way to Konoha. There's no way you can kick Hashi out!" Haruka defended, if she couldn't convince the head nurse, she would have to plea with the Hokage. _

"_Gomennasai Haruka-san… But please do spare a thought for the other sick children…"_

_Haruka but her lips tensely. The head nurse was right… there were others that needed medical attention. The hospital was no place for Hashi to stay at, even if she pleaded with Tsunade, the little monster was always wreaking havoc and messing with the staffs…_

_Out of choices and excuses, Haruka closed her eyes in defeat._

"_I'll see to the problem at once Toshiyo-sama…"_

Sasuke remained soundless as her story ended with yet another sigh, hands moving to cover the whole of her face as green orbs slid closed.

"Can't you just leave that kid in your house?"

Haruka groaned as she jerked herself upright, sliding down next to Sasuke with both knees propped up and hands lying lazily by her sides, "I'm not at home most of the time, and it's impossible to leave Hashi at home without any supervision." She muttered monotonously.

"Isn't there anyone else's house?"

With that question, Haruka groaned even louder. "Nobody is willing to… besides, where am I supposed to find someone that stays a…" her voice faltered as her eyes lightened.

"at…" her head turned slowly towards her side, eyes staring directly at the raven-haired male delightedly.

"home." The corners of her mouth twitched as she broke into a grin. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her warily, sensing the inauspicious expression present on the kunoichi's face.

"No." his answer was straight to the point, firm and undaunted.

"If you can keep Hashi safe and happy here," her grin moulded into a confident faint smirk, "I'll talk to Tsunade-sama about lightening your sentence."

'Hah! Gotcha!'

Sasuke glared at her, visibly annoyed. There was no denying the fact that the offer was indeed tempting on certain levels. The Uchiha was growing _extremely _bored at home, being restrained from doing what he normally does. Besides, all he needed to do was to make sure the kid was alive and kicking…

Then again, Haruka did mention 'little monster'. And he had no experiences with kids whatsoever… except for the babysitting mission he had along with Team Seven years ago…

It was a terrible experience.

"Well?" Haruka pressed on, unconsciously edging nearer to him.

"… when is he leaving Konoha?"

Haruka scratched the side of her head, clueless. They had never heard another word from Hashi's parents after they had replied that they were on their way to Konoha.

"His parents returned to the country of the Mist when Hashi went missing. They're coming, but we're still unsure when they'll arrive."

"So he might stay here forever?"

"…" she was rendered speechless, eyes lowering to the ground in disappointment. " Heartless jerk…" she mumbled grudgingly under her breath. Sasuke turned and glanced at her, deadpanned while Haruka carefully avoided his steady gaze. He sighed quietly and turned his head to face the front again.

"If I remembered correctly, I did _not_ decline the offer did I?" he reminded her softly, eyes fixated on the wall in front of him, dead sure he was going to regret the words that escaped his mouth just moments ago.

Haruka widened her eyes and lifted her head to look at him. His eyes slid to the side to meet hers, which were practically _glowing _hopefully.

"So that's a yes?!"

Sasuke groaned inwardly, already starting to regret his decision.

"In exchange for my freedom."

Haruka cheered triumphantly, hands lifting up above her head. Scrambling up, she thanked the Uchiha jubilantly before rushing out of the house, probably off to break the news. The lone figure left in the room made no movements, eye lingering on the door in which the female had just rushed out from.

Unknowingly, the corners of his lips tugged and twitched upwards slightly,

It was rare, it was hardly noticeable, but it was there.

A small smile.

* * *

_The humble joys in life, the simple things we used to enjoy. The beauty in ordinary, the circle of life that's never-ending._

* * *

It was a mistake… A terrible mistake from the start…

"Hashi-chan! Stop running!"

The female's irritation was visible in her tone, yet the five-year old was completely oblivious. He was too caught up with the new environment, though it was lacking in light and colours in his opinion. Hashi was currently scrambling around the house, with a weary and frustrated kunoichi behind him.

The little ball of energy was only caught when he turned into a corridor, where Sasuke appeared in front of him and scooped him up with one hand, hurling him over his shoulder like a potato sack.

His years of training his speed was for fighting…not for chasing after little devils…

It was a mistake…A terrible mistake from the start…

Haruka panted indignantly, embarrassed and guilty. She could sense the irritation Sasuke was feeling, though he kept a straight face, his eyes were practically glaring _daggers _at her.

Maybe it wasn't really a great idea to leave a child under an Uchiha's care…

Five feet away from each other, no one spoke. The female kunoichi was too guilty for word, the Uchiha was too irritated for words, and the little monster was too giddy for words - blood practically rushing to his head.

A low, rumbling growl emitted from the five-year old's stomach, breaking the awkward silence.

…

…

…

…

"Onee-san…I'm hungry…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hashi stuffed an onigiri into his mouth greedily, hands blocking the entrance of his mouth to prevent the rice from slipping out. His eyes travelled from the black-haired girl, whose arms were placed on the table while her head rested on them exhaustedly, to the blank-face male, who was standing at the doorframe with hands crossed in front of him, staring at the ground.

"You…you're not backing out now are you?"

Sasuke glanced up at her, irritation subsiding slowly. Haruka bit her lips nervously, eyes fixed on his. First day here, and he was already showing signs of regret.

"He's really not so active everyday."

"…"

"He can be really quiet…when he's asleep…"

"…"

"Come on! At least speak something… quit making me feel guilty here…"

"…Freedom doesn't seem to be worth all this everyday."

"What else do you want me to do? I have nothing to offer you anymore **Uchiha-sama**." She taunted him, frustrated. She had nothing else to offer, but she was not going to let Hashi leave. He returned her taunt with a hard glare and she felt herself shrink.

"What do you want, to keep Hashi in the house?" She muttered, amending her previous statement.

He seemed to have thought about the question for a moment or so. "You have nothing else to offer." It was more of a statement rather than a question.

Hashi swallowed whatever contents left in his mouth wiped his mouth with his hand clumsily. He was getting rather bored. Without a single clue of what the two teenagers were talking about, he interrupted their conversation – speaking only for the sake of speaking.

"Onee-san will marry you."

Haruka choked on her own salivation and coughed loudly, eyes wide as she turned to stare at the child shockingly. What in the world, was this little devil saying?

Hashi merely blinked back at her, confused and hopelessly clueless.

"…what…?" the five-year old asked her curiously.

"Who taught you that?!" green eyes stared at the boy accusingly, face flushed with embarrassment.

"I read it in Onee-san's book."

"…"

Sasuke eyed the duo ideally. Though slightly thrown off by Hashi's statement, he had managed to keep a blank face, unlike a certain someone who was blushing so hard even the tips of her ears were red - from the statement or the fact that the boy had learnt it from peeking into her books, he really had no idea which.

"That was a joke," she protested agitatedly, turning to the Uchiha in an attempt to dispel any awkwardness. "They never really got married!" Sasuke kept a straight face, resisting the urge to throw an insult or sarcasm. He liked things simple; there was no need to complicate things. If he would to add fuel to fire, the fire might burn him silly.

Hashi, on the other hand, was far too curious for his own good.

He swallowed another bite of the onigiri and stared at Haruka again, examining her still slightly pink cheeks. He pointed directly at the girl's cheek and shot a deadly question.

"Are you blushing Onee-san?"

'That was just plain straight.' The raven-haired teen thought, sighing softly. Haruka turned and shot a glare at the innocent little boy, who shifted a few feet backwards.

'That boy was far too oblivious…'

For a moment, Sasuke found his personality extremely familiar. It reminded him of someone… someone who was just like the little brunette. Oblivious, clueless and slow…

…

…

…

And then it hit him.

He was just like a miniature-size Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke closed his eyes tiredly; he was going to deal with two idiots from now on.

At least, until the little ball of trouble's parents arrive.

End chapter 6

* * *

Notes...Believe it! That's the longest chapter so far! But I'm kinda worried Sasuke is kinda...erm...OOC? Hopefully not...

There might be a slightly later update for the next chapter, I'm having exams for the whole of next week. Urgh! 10 subjects in 5days!! And I'm not even 16! .

My apologies to readers of this story

Preview for next chapter..(I'm only showing the parts that I've written, the chapter's still incomplete!)

"Hey."

Hashi's ears perked up happily as his head turned behind quickly.

"You're not a very good actor."


	8. The Reason

Disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters in this fanfiction, with the exception of Haruka and Hashi

okie, now off to the reviews! :D

Thanks a lot OpaquexSmiles! I'm really, extremely honoured that you like this story - And I can relate to the giggles part D I get that when I see reviews and new updates from some authors too!

Thanks a lot cherry1315! Hope that it'll be up to standard for the future chapter - ! I'll keep working improve..(hopefully on my grammar...I need practice man...)

Thanks a lot ani-sand! That crazy idea just pop out of nowhere - ! I like it when little kids do real innocent and adorable things! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!

Thanks a lot imm0rtal! I'm over the crazy period of exams already! Thanks for understanding -! I'll keep working on the story and enjoy the new chapter!

And also, thanks for reading readers!

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 8 **

Sasuke was extremely pissed.

His eyes glared at the men that were shooting red-coloured rays at huge, ugly monsters who seemed to have a range of one to seven legs.

Sasuke was **extremely pissed.**

The people were spawned all around the huge white background, easily noticed by the huge contrast of wearing black outlines with the plain surroundings… and the fact that every man had the ability to shoot huge blots of…red things… that penetrated the 'monster'.

**Sasuke **was **extremely pissed.**

Amidst all the war and fights going on, he had managed to spot a couple of interesting things sprawled on the ground…

…

Crayons…

…

…

…

…

Someone was going to wipe off the drawings on the wall, and it will _definitely_ be the one that started all these troubles.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"… Nii-san, can we go out and play?!"

"No."

…

The depressing and terrifying tone of the Uchiha was more than enough to rain on the parade of the little monster, he pouted and frowned in what he thought was a convincing manner and turned his back on Sasuke, falling to the floor sloppily with a dull 'thud'.

Sasuke sat on the couch, an arm was draped across a bent knee while the other leg hung down the side of the seat, dangling. His free hand supported his head, eyes directed towards the open window. Hashi sat barely six feet away from him, back facing Sasuke and his hands crossed over his chest. Sasuke's eyes slid towards the direction of the boy and stared at his back dryly.

Minutes ticked by, not a single muscle twitched, both stubborn minds refusing to give in. Hashi, disturbed and tired of the silence, lowered his head slowly. His head turned slightly as his eyes peeked behind him curiously.

Black, emotionless orbs stared right back at him.

Realising that he was being eyed at all along, Hashi released a soft squeak and turned his head back, face contorted. A few more minutes passed, as the little monster stifled a yawn and blinked slowly. Once again, his eager eyes found its way behind his shoulders, only to find that his caretaker had not even moved an inch. The process repeated itself for several more times.

Turns head.

Peeks over his shoulder.

Sees him staring right back.

Turns head back front.

-

-

-

-

-

-

'_Just give in already!_'

"Hey."

Hashi's ears perked up happily as his head turned behind quickly.

"You're not a very good actor."

There was nothing to do right now and Haruka was still not here. Was she trying to shrink responsibilities?

Right on cue, something knocked on the entrance of the house.

_It's about time…_

"Teme!!"

_Oh Kami-sama…._

Rising lazily, Sasuke made his way to the door, flinging it open carelessly as his vision was temporary clouded by the batch of sunshine and the huge smile plastered on the energetic individual. His eyes travelled from Naruto to the black-haired girl behind.

"You brought this idiot along?"

"Hey!!"

"Can't help it..." she replied, smiling apologetically. Sasuke sighed softly as the blonde began ranting, including occasional exaggerating body movements every once in a while.

"Onee-san!" out of the corner, Hashi stumbled clumsily towards the door and launched onto the teenager, arms sliding around her shoulders as he engulfed her in a bear hug. Haruka laughed and slid an arm around his waist, her free hand reaching up to ruffle his hair affectionately.

"And how are you today?"

The little brunette released his hold on her neck and leaned back, legs still surrounding her waist securely as he flashed her a beam.

It was, however, the raven-haired black ice that spoke – much to her surprise.

"He'll be fine, but I won't say the same about you."

She jerked her head at towards the direction of the dangerous voice.

"W…hat?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. Ill intentions were brewing.

'This is not good…' she thought, turning to stare at the boy suspiciously. Hashi avoided her watchful eye and turned to look at Naruto.

"Who are you?" he pointed a little finger at the blonde curiously. Naruto grinned, hands on his hips as he stood proudly.

"Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage, nice to meet you!"

His smile was infectious, Hashi smile widened along with Naruto's.

"Hyuu Hashi! Nice to meet you!"

Well… the long-lost brothers have finally met…

This'll be interesting…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Haruka let out a grunt of annoyance as her hand dunked the cloth into the bucket of lukewarm water, rinsing and squeezing it violently before slapping it on the scribble-filled wall, rubbing it grudgingly. She was sitting on her legs, crouching to wash off the crayon marks.

She mumbled incoherent words under her breath, scrubbing the wall forcefully. Her head snapped to her back and glowered at the figure behind her.

"A little help?" she grumbled, eyes fixated on his face. He was leaning on the other side of the corridor nonchalantly, watching her work.

"You're the one that started it, so you can end it."

She turned fully and flung the cloth at him, which-expectedly- was easily avoided by a simple tilt of his head. The damp object hit the wall behind him with a dull 'thud' before dropping to the ground beside him.

"Then why am I the only one working while Hashi's outside?"

He slid his leg below the cloth and flipped it towards Haruka, who caught it lazily with both hands.

"He'll be of no help anyway. Scrub. Now." There was a note of finality in his voice. She muttered silent curses under her breath as she turned towards the wall again. He couldn't hear all the things she said, but he did catch one particular word.

"Icicle…"

So that was how he is to her. Strange… it had almost affected him…

_Almost._

He had been called cold, heartless, someone incapable of any emotion. Icicle was nothing new to him. But hearing it from her seemed… different.

He wouldn't deny it, it had affected him probably slightly more than when he was called by others. That never actually bothered him much.

Perhaps…

He really did cared slightly more about how she felt about him.

He was letting the girl affect him too much...

Grunting, Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and approached her silently. Stopping behind her, he reached over and grabbed the cloth off her grip.

He had no idea what he was doing.

He sidestepped to the side and started rubbing at the wall, eyes never leaving the scribbles. Haruka raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you doing?"

"You're too slow."

She would have made a retort, but chose to kept her mouth shut instead. There was no point in provoking the easily angered human icicle. He would either throw the cloth back at her – which would mean that _she _would be left to clean it again -, or he would make another smart comeback to shut her up.

So, she settled for collapsing to the ground, sitting cross-legged as she watched the Uchiha work.

"How's Hashi doing?" she realised that, in the end, she would have to be the one to start a conversation. Leaving him here would be slightly heartless, and she wasn't really feeling the urge to have ramen with Naruto and possibly Hashi.

"Hn."

'Oh why am I not surprise…' she thought awkwardly, hands moving to trace circles on the window.

There was a long pause, where no one spoke. Both of them were soaking in the silence surrounding them. It was tranquil, comfortable,

Familiar.

She turned her attention from tracing the wall to the boy next to her, taking the time to observe him. After all these days, she had never taken a good look at him.

His hair was longer than before, strands reaching to frame his pale face. He was definitely taller, features maturing to form the attractive man she knew he would still be in future. Nothing had change dramatically. His eyes were still the same, if not, more blank than they had been in the past.

She wasn't surprised.

"What are you planning?"

She had wanted to ask this question since the day he entered Konoha. There were always too much things happening to shoot her question. Sasuke turned and glance at her, hands still hanging on the wall.

"Why would you want to come back?" She repeated her question, this time clearer and filled with more curiosity.

He appeared to have been affected by her question, contemplating it carefully. She was right…

Why did he come back?

He had done horrible things and betrayed the village. But something had brought him back to the village. Someone had forcefully dragged him back at first, but had also knocked the senses out of him on the way.

"Naruto."

He was his first friend; someone had treated him like they were related. Someone even his own blood related brother thought of as a good person.

He had rebounded back countless time from failures; he had evolved from the 'dead last' during their genin years to a promising boy with bright futures. He had changed his destiny, done the impossible.

And became someone Sasuke grew to respect.

On the inside…of course…

If there was someone that he should be grateful to, it would have to be that hyperactive blonde.

"_Why do I have to go back with you?"_

_Naruto clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth in agitation. He swung a fist at his friend agitatedly. Sasuke made no movement to dodge._

"_To apologize baka!" _

"_For what?!" he had snapped, turning to leer at those sea blue eyes. _

"_For being such an idiot! For making Sakura-chan cry for you! For making Haru-chan sad!" He shouted back._

_The last part had caught Sasuke slightly off-guard. He had expected that black-haired kunoichi to be angry at him, not grief._

_The punch had pushed him to the muddy ground, his hand dirtied and eyes looking at the ground. His breathing was slightly more even now. Naruto seemed to have calmed down along with him, eyes never leaving the person in front of him._

"_Haru-chan's really depressed, she never shows it, but everyone can see it. It's all because of you."_

_The words stung him like a million pins, knowing that he was the cause of it had made it worse. Naruto approached him slowly and stopped right in front of him, his build towering over to block the sun from the raven-haired missing-nin. Sasuke lifted his head to look at Naruto again._

"_You made everyone sad teme, and I'm going to bring you back like I promised them. Dattebayo!" he broke into his famous grin again, lightening the previously tensed atmosphere._

"For Naruto?" She blinked at him, confused. He met his gaze.

"_You're going to have to fix Haru-chan back to normal, or I'll beat your ugly face up!"_

He flung the unwrung cloth at Haruka's face suddenly. She squealed as the drips fell into her eyes and fell backwards, hands moving around frantically.

"Baka! What are you trying to do?!"

He allowed the corners of his mouth to twitch upwards as his amused eyes studied the fallen girl.

"Don't expect me to do your work for you."

The reason…

The reason for his return…

Was for Sakura…

For Kakashi…

And for the three people that had changed his life.

His aniki…

Naruto…

And Haruka…

Chapter End

Author's notes : I was having a whole lot of trouble squeezing ideas out XD with exams I didn't have enough time left to invest into writing, so if this particular chapter has more mistakes and lame stuff than before, I apologize for not having done enough editing and revising... I seriously need to go out and gain some inspirational brain juice...

no previews this time, sorry... cause..well... ehehe... sorry sorry sorry sorry!


	9. Together

Disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters in this fanfiction except for Hashi and Haruka.

I've squeezed out chapter 9 on time - however, sadly, this is more of a friendship chapter, since I've been neglecting Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi too much.. don't worry though, bear with me for the next chapter will be more on Haruka and Sasuke:)

Reviews!!

Thanks for the review ani-sand! Be prepared! Since the next series of TBT will be more depressing, but hey, it'll be sweeter too! There was suppose to be more scenes, but I cut it off since they didn't make a good ending for the chapter, oh well! :)

Thanks for the review unknown player! Here you go! An update! and I'm glad you like this story :) I'll work harder on it, and keep it updated regularly, fast and presentable!

Thanks for the review Kouyan! Yeah...the meeting was a little rude and impolite huh? Ah well! At least it'll be better as they interact more, I just feel kinda bad for Haruka though. :)

Thanks for the review OpaquexSmiles! I really have no idea what kind of feeling readers get when they read this story :) But I'm guessing that this is alright for now huh? I'll be looking for more stories to read and learn from! I went back to check on my walls after a longggg time, the invisible marks somehow faded off... how depressing...my work.

Thanks for the review Lighting Wings! I had the same thing in mind! But rest assure, I want to make Sakura a potential catch (she is pretty in her way anyway). No bashing of characters! I'm really excited you like Haruka, I'll keep it the way she is! Oh, and good luck on your fanfictions too! :)

Thanks for the review imm0rtal! Thanks for the luck, I need it! Though seriously.. It makes me wonder how come your cousin is so willing to wear a maid's uniform... how old is he anyway... hm... I'll try it on my cousin next time too! :)

Now, onwards to the tenth update!!

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 9 Together**

She had been dying to see him. But had managed to restrain herself several times.

Haruno Sakura was afraid.

Afraid that _he_ would still see her as a fan-girl.

Sakura had grown, matured into a young medic-nin who was doing extremely well. This was the side she wanted him to see, not the same, obsessive stalker that did nothing to contribute to the village.

Some things never change, and she still loves him.

If there was anything the years did _not _change her, it was the part that still lingered around the affection for a certain someone.

This wasn't just some childhood crush, some innocent six-year old romance. This was something she was sure of, no doubt.

But the question was, did he feel the same way?

-

-

-

-

-

-

Probably not…

But this wasn't the end of the story.

She was not intending to give up without at least _trying._

* * *

"Oi! Sasuke! Open up!"

Naruto trashed the door violently, screaming at the top of his lungs as usual. There really was no point in knocking if someone was going to scream so loud the people on the opposite side of the door could hear, and vice versa.

Not that Naruto knew – or cared – about this point. He had to release all his energy somewhere didn't he?

The door clicked open softly, revealing an extremely irritated teenager.

"Teme!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

"What are you two doing here?"

Three voices clashed at the same time, each spoken with different tones. Time froze for a moment for so, no one knew what to say.

_Awkward…._

"Haruka can't make it today, so we're here to see you."

She was the first one to speak, knowing that both of them simply were not cut out for saying _any _appropriate things at such times. Sasuke held the door wider still and the duo trailed in.

"Where's Hashi-chan?"

Sasuke remained silent as he walked slowly along the corridor, eyes sliding sideways without knowing it as he blocked out Naruto's useless blabbering effortlessly. The walls had been scrubbed by Haruka yesterday, but the crayon marks were so deep that it left faint trails of red, black and green on the wall, despite the laborious effort.

With the two following behind, Sasuke stopped short in the entrance of the living room. Naruto peered from Sasuke's shoulder while Sakura stood behind him curiously. The sight Naruto caught surprised him.

"What in the world did you do to him?!" He screeched unthinkingly. Sasuke growled quietly at his outburst while Sakura attempted to shush the worked up teen.

Sprawled in the middle of the room was none other than the brunette, laying flat on his stomach with his lower legs angled up in the air so that they were swinging lazily up and down. Spread in front of him was pieces of blank paper and a box of his special 'colourful weapons'.

This was impossible, something Naruto had never saw coming. He had never expected Hashi to be so quiet and calm. No, Hashi and quiet never had any connection, as far as he knew.

Hashi had literally turned from a miniature him into… into…

A miniature teme?

"What in the world did you do to him?!" he repeated, yelling even louder this time. Sakura winced at the decibel of his voice while Sasuke raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"What?"

Naruto shook his head fiercely, visibly confused, worried and agitated. One day, just one day with Uchiha Sasuke and the little boy was alien-fied.

Heck, that wasn't even a word.

"What did you do to him? He's all… quiet and stuff!" his voice had lowered, yet still loud and clear. What had happened to the little ball of energy with a mind full of evil pranks yesterday?

"Drawing keeps him busy and quiet." His voice was neutral, yet with a hint of smugness hidden, silently enjoying the victory and his teammate's agitation.

"Don't lie to me teme!"

"Shut up moron."

"You brainwashed him didn't you?!"

"…loser…"

Through the commotions and arguments, Sakura had long given up on trying to calm down either of them. Instead, she walked up to Hashi's side silently, squatting down slowly to examine the little boy's handiwork.

Up close, Sakura could hear him humming softly to him, lost in his own world.

"Who is this?" her voice was soft and gentle, a delicate finger pointing towards one particularly attention-attracting figure. Hashi paused, head turning sideways to meet the pink-haired kunoichi.

The paper was filled with a variety of colours, with weird looking monsters invading almost half of the page. On the hand of the largest monster, was a human trapped inside its grip. Black waist-length hair and face horrified, she was wearing a white dress.

A familiar one at that.

"Who are you?" his curious voice broke out as he stared at the girl before him.

She smiled, "Sakura."

Sensing no hint of hostility, he grinned widely, pulling up to a sitting position. "Sakura-nee!"

She chuckled at his enthusiasm and tousled a strand of his hair. "Naruto was right; you really are full of energy."

He laughed at what he felt was a compliment to him, before his round eyes glanced across the room. It didn't take him long to notice the obvious difference in attendance.

"Where's…Nee-san?"

"Haruka?" He nodded in confirmation. Sakura gave an apologetic smile, knowing well that this will probably affect his mood.

"Something came up, she's not coming today."

Indeed, Hashi frowned dejectedly, slumping to the ground with a soft huff. Not having her here just felt… weird.

Noticing the change, Sakura made a quick change and returned to their previous conversation topic. Hashi narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he mouthed the question.

"Do you work at the same place Nee-san works?" Sakura nodded, confused as she awaited more clarification. Hashi glanced back at his work piece, flickering back and forth between his drawing and the pink-haired female. After a moment or so, he shook his head and placed a finger on his lips.

"I can't tell you, I might get into trouble."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his statement. He had scrambled to a crawling position as he started shoving the crayons back into his box and rolled his work up. She considered prying it out from him, but he had already lost his interest in the conversation, turning to observe the raven haired and the blonde fight.

"Keep your mouth closed idiot; don't forget you're not invited here in the first place."

"What do you mean not invited? I had specific orders from the Hokage!"

"Those were the Hokage's orders, but I never invited you in."

"Don't you dare deny it teme! You opened the door just now!"

"I wasn't opening it for you."

The arguing went on and on, both refusing to give in. Sakura turned back, eyes softened at the scene before her as she gazed at the bickering twosome.

'Just like old times.' She thought back fondly. 'The only person that was missing was probably-'

"Yo."

'Oh…never mind.'

Dressed in his usual jounin vest and a striking orange book in hand, Kakashi had decided to grace them with his uninvited presence. Once again, fuelling to Sasuke's irritation, though it didn't last long when he noticed the unexpected Team Seven reunion.

"Sensei!" As usual, the sunshine of the team was the first to greet, followed by a polite greeting from the only female in the team, ending with a curt nod from the Uchiha.

The copycat ninja took a moment to finish the last sentence he was reading before lifting his eye up to look at every one of them. Naruto and Sasuke were standing at the doorway, leaving Sakura and 

the little brunette a few feet away from them. He himself was standing in between the two groups, eyeing the two boys first.

His gaze lingered lastly on Hashi as he lifted an eyebrow. Acknowledgment dawned on him as he eyed the little boy's features.

"You must be Hashi."

His huge and innocent eyes blinked a few times as he paused from his cleaning up. He seemed to be contemplating something silently in his head, finally speaking a few moments later.

"Are you that pervert sensei that reads weird books?"

Three pairs of eyes widened and stared at the little brunette in surprise. Kakashi eyed the boy for a long time. Sakura bit her bottom lip in an attempt to stifle her laugh. Sasuke remained still, his eyes moving to stare at the boy as he awaited the boy to say more. Naruto, however, appeared to have tensed up as he shuffled slowly away from the crowd.

"Haruka told you that?" The silver-haired jounin was calm, showing no signs of anger or indignant. Hashi shook his head and pointed towards the blonde ninja.

"Naruto-nii told me."

All eyes turned towards the guilty criminal now, each looking at him with different expressions. Sakura smirked lightly at him. Sasuke watched him dully – amusement carefully hidden behind his blank expression. Kakashi stared at him lazily, yet there was no hiding the accusing look.

"Pervert eh?"

"Neh… Pervert-san, what books do you read?"

He had never taken any offence when Naruto called him that. But this was different. He wasn't one to care about what others think of him, but there was a limit to such things.

Hand scratching the back of his head nervously, Naruto continued to shuffle 'inconspicuously' away from his sensei. Breaking into an awkward laugh, he made attempts to salvage the situation.

"I…It was a harmless comment sensei…"

Sakura shook her head hopelessly.

"Harmless how?"

The criminal gulped guiltily, turning to look at his companion for help. Sakura and Sasuke simply returned his hopeful eyes with an uncaring gaze while Hashi stared at the interaction, confused. Sakura must have notice the boy's utter clueless expression, placing a hand on his shoulders as she leaned nearer towards Hashi.

"Don't worry, this is normal." She whispered to him, flashing a grin at him this time.

Perhaps it was the way everything seemed to feel so normal, so familiar and customary. How after all those three years of separation had caused so much change, so much hardships.

All those hard work put in to fix that broken bond, felt like it was all worth this.

_It feels good to be together again._

* * *

_"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost."  
__- Charles Caleb Colton_

* * *


	10. Unimaginable

I do not own any of the chracters in this story, except for Hashi, and of course, Haruka :)

Busy busy busy... My last major examination is coming up in 2-3weeks, but I'll try da keep up the constant updates :)

Reviews :)

Thanks ani-sand :D I wanted to find another more...erm... unusual and suitable name, but that was the best I could think of...ehehe... I'll keep up the updates!

Thanks unknown player :D I left this whole chappie to revolve around the two of them! It's not much of a fluffy chapter, but we can't rush these things!

Thanks Kouyan :D I guess Hashi turned out to be more appealing original character than thought! I'll try to keep it cute! muahahaha!

Thanks OpaquexSmiles. I can't believe it! Are you and your computer alright? I just couldn't resist not adding the little Team Seven moment, since Naruto was such a straightforward and blunt character! I don't have a juice box with me right now, how bout a virtual cookie? :D

Thanks Lighting Wings! Yeah..eheh sorry bout that uber confusing organization :D Seems like the Team Seven moment was an extremely terrible scene! Oh and I reviewed on your story before already, I think it was the previous week...I cnt remember! You have quite a promising plot there! Good Luck!

Thanks imm0rtal! Man the maid uniform is probably gonna haunt your cousin for life :D Hmm... I cant be sure how if their in character, but I try really hard to! It's my top priority! I probably always try to imagine the scene and supply it with what I know through mangas before I finalise it! Let's just hope it'll not fail me!

Thanks bLo0d-rEd-r0se! Glad you found it readable :D I'll work on it more!

& thanks all readers... for reading! :D

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 10 Unimaginable **

"No! Hashi don't-"

The roaring of disturbed waves as water exploded from their tranquil state to a mini tsunami interrupted her warning, muffling her voice completely. Ripples bubbled and the previously calm scenario was ruined.

"Urgh…Kami-sama…" She groaned in defeat, palm hitting her forehead lightly as she leaned back on a nearby tree trunk. Hashi laughed childishly as he paddled around the lake contentedly. Sasuke's eyes flickered from the little boy to the girl in distress next to him wordlessly.

"Let it go." His voice was even, so calm it provoked and added up to her irritation.

"Of course you'll say that, I'm the one who has to clean up after him." she shot back, dissatisfaction lurking in her every word.

"You brought him here, not me."

"…"

Almost a week since Hashi's arrival, and it was expected that the little five-year old would grow bored of the four walls surrounding and trapping him. He had been whining and complaining since the moment his female caretaker arrived at the Uchiha's house.

And that was what brought the trio to their field trip – the forest lake.

Only at the secluded forest, where the presence of people were at its minimum. Tsunade was not too fond with the idea of letting Sasuke roam on the crowded streets of Konoha. The discussions regarding his punishment were growing lesser, but there were still many doubts about the matter. She didn't want to take any risks of reopening up the closing hole of gossip.

Not that any of them had any objections to the location. Sasuke would have chosen this over the crowded street any other day. Hashi was fine with anywhere; he had the ability to turn every single little thing into his toy, and every single place into his playpen.

Trees cleared from the surroundings, it left rough soil and random growth of grasses on the surface of the land. This part of the forest was devoted for training's sake, it was far from civilization to prevent injuries of innocent lives and the quiet atmosphere was needed for ninjas to concentrate and hone their skills. The lake offered those who specialized in water elemental jutsus to train on.

The same lake that the five-year-old brunette was currently doggie paddling in.

Knees bending up to her chest, she covered half of her face with her right hand in defeat as her shoulders sagged, wasted and dead tired. What was she thinking? There was no way that hyperactive ball of trouble could contain his inner excitement.

Sunlight filtered through the thick blanket of greenery of the tree she sat, lighting the spot she sat on gently. The mild breeze was just strong enough to fan the stray strands away from her face. From where Haruka was, she could take in just enough of the land for her to lay back and still keep an eye out for the Hashi – the same boy who was a considered a danger to himself for his lack of self-restrain to everything.

Sasuke sat on the bottom of another tree not far away, eyes focused on the surroundings. Haruka snuck a peek at the raven-haired curiously.

"Can I ask you something?" the serene atmosphere and set her mind reeling through the past, the unanswered questions she struggled to avoid. She took his silence as an approval and continued. Her mood had no doubt dampened, knowing that she was crushing the rare moment of peace. But there was something that inside her that was hoping to get answers, to satisfy her curiosity.

"You wanted to destroy everyone in Konoha." Her voice was firm, her expression seemed like she was still levelheaded. Sasuke closed his eyes wearily.

He had a rough idea where this conversation was leading to already.

"Your point?" he kept his voice impassive, honest.

"Would you have killed Sakura or Kakashi?"

"_Falcon_ was strong enough to deal with them."

"And Naruto?" her voice was slowly breaking, she could hear it, she could feel it. He knew it too, yet he knew the fact that she hated being lied to more than anything else.

"My primary goal was to exterminate the elders first, and then everyone else. No exceptions." It was all true. When he had been with Team Falcon and the Akatsuki, his eyes saw nothing but revenge for his brother's life, his parent's death, and his clan's undeserved massacre.

Silenced by the answers he had provided, she carefully analysed them in her mind.

"What about me?"

She knew that it was stupid of her, to ask such a trivial question. Who was she? A mere Konoha genin during that time, hardly able to keep up with the rest of the class. Was she expecting herself to be an exception to his killing? But there was something inside her, something that clung onto a pitiful hope that he would answer differently. It was impossible – she knew – yet it was human's nature.

To believe in the impossibility of miracle that defied logic.

He had expected the question long before she had decided to ask.

-

-

-

-

"Probably."

It was not an illogical answer. If there was anyone that he felt the slightest pressure in killing, it was her. She was special, like a companion in the nighttime. In addition, she was definitely weaker in the way of the ninja compared to him; there was no point in competing with her. He didn't feel the slightest bit of pressure with her.

_It was a simple friendship._

Yet, if the situation forces the need to, perhaps his hesitation would not affect his mission. After all, this was for his aniki.

"Are you disappointed?" his question held no signs of mockery.

She breathed in an excessive amount of air, shoulders rising up exaggeratedly as she allowed her them to fall smoothly when she exhaled.

"Yes."

She would not deny it; she was disappointed with the answer, for Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto...

And herself.

She didn't feel the need nor to cover up her disgruntle and dissatisfaction, it was evident even if she lied.

"I wanted complete destruction and revenge; I didn't care about those 'bonds' with anyone in Konoha." His voice turned unusually soft, dark. His hands balled up into tight fists as memories surfaced and filled his mind.

Orochimaru.

Karin.

Juugo.

Suigetsu.

Itachi.

**Madara. **

He hissed unconsciously under his breath, hands digging even deeper into his palm at the individual as his eyes hardened and glared at the ground frigidly. The one that had used him, with every intention to mislead his actions.

He felt truly, utterly foolish. How could he be so ignorant to step out of the picture and reanalyse the situation he was in?

Worried and inquisitive eyes focused on the Uchiha's tightly clenched fist and glacial expression warily. He was not too far away from her, close enough for her to lean herself towards his direction and stretch out her hand to uncurl his fingers. Yet, she found herself stopping halfway through.

No. she couldn't do that. It was probably ridiculous and paranoid of her to cut off all sort of physical contact with him. But it wasn't for him; rather, it was for her own sanity. To restrain the concrete support that surrounded her heart from breaking down. She had always thought that it was safe, but the wall was like glass, fragile and so breakable around him.

It was dangerous.

She bit her lower lip and slowly drew her hand back to her body, clutching it with her free hand as if to control its will to reach out for his hands.

Sasuke broke out of his trance and leaned the upper part of his body forward slightly as a rock whizzed past and over the his head. He turned his still lowered head towards the black-haired kunoichi and eyed her, a bored expression present on his face.

"Do you really think it would hit me?"

She shrugged absentmindedly and turned her attention away from him towards Hashi, eyes avoiding his accusing gaze. "It only held the purpose of bringing you back to reality."

She would have to find other ways to solve such problems. Until she was confident that the walls surrounding her was solid.

He raised an eyebrow and leaned back again, eyes flickering between the brunette and Haruka. Her eyes reflected genuine concern and fondness for the little boy, something that baffled him.

"Why are you so eager to help him?" it was not normal to have her take in someone and claim full responsibility over a person whom she had no connection with. She was helpful when needed, but not ridiculously helpful to go around and take in homeless kids.

"I just…feel like we're…similar."

He gazed at her vacantly, mind wandering. It didn't take long for him to realise the meaning behind her words.

They were both from the Hidden Village of the Mist.

Her eyes lifted up to watch the five-year old every once in a while as she fingered the silver chain on her wrist ideally. It was becoming something similar to a natural habit. The simple piece of accessory was the only materialistic possession she had to remember her parents by.

Particularly her mother.

Her action did not go unnoticed by the observant raven-haired ninja. Her delicate finger traced the curves, outlining the shape of the bracelet. She turned her attention down fully to the arm chained by the silver object on her lap as her tracing ended at the only flaw on the bracelet.

The place where a fragment of the accessory was lost.

"Your habit is still unchanged." He stated, remembering how she would always fiddle with the bracelet.

He remembered questioning her once about her weird habit. It was out of boredom, a completely random question he had no interest in. It was, however, the answer that baffled him.

"I wanted…

…_to_ _reconnect."_

It was the same answer…

"Care to elaborate?" his voice was dull, bored, but it held slightly more interest than the last time he asked about it.

She smiled and tilted her head sideways to meet his dark-coloured orbs.

"I'll think about it." She replied jokingly, breaking into an even wider smile and chuckled as he narrowed his eyes.

Haruka closed her eyes slowly, slowly taking in the surrounding's indescribable comfort. She felt safe; the silence assured her with the absence of commotions. Hashi's occasional laugh added a tint of innocent joy to the atmosphere. The trees blocked out all the pressure of life, all the worries.

With him sitting not far away from her, talking, felt like nothing changed except for the never-stopping concept of time.

But suddenly, it felt like it was frozen, ticking counter clockwise seconds by seconds,

Minutes by minutes,

Days by days,

And stopped, right back where it started.

Unconsciously, as if the soft rhythm, the hushed rustling of leaves on the trees behind her wavered every few seconds, she allowed a small smile to grace her face.

She was never the class belle, never known as someone with a beautiful complexion or anything along that line. Black hair, reaching slightly past her shoulders. Slightly round eyes with a lighter shade of forest green pupils. The curve of her lips was thin and pinkish, though striking compared to her unusually pale skin.

She would have looked like a ghost if her complexion were any paler. No doubt, she wasn't one to have caught unnecessary attention on the street.

But right now, with the timid smile and unclouded expression on her face, she looked beautiful to him.

_Beauty rests only in the eyes of the beholder._

He fought down fresh feelings of temptation and he directed his gaze towards the ground. This was… new to him. This wild, almost uncontrollable feeling. It had been mild in the past, something he had waved off dismissively without a second thought.

The feeling seemed to have gotten stronger through the years, gravitating even more potently to the thought of holding her nearer.

His jaws tightened tenaciously as he dug his fingers into the ground forcefully, releasing the sudden surge of energy that coursed through his veins, the same feeling he got when he had embraced her. It was chaste, yet perfect.

"Onee-san!" Hashi scrambled out from the shallow edge of the lake, hands cupping together as he ran up to Haruka. She opened her eyes slowly and leaned forward to peek into Hashi's cupped hands.

"You caught a fish?!"

Hashi nodded and beamed proudly, turning towards Sasuke as he stretched his arms out fully for the raven-haired Uchiha.

"Look nii-san! Aren't I something?"

Drips of water leaked out from the tiny opening between his two hands. The petite fish swam lower and lower as it struggled for oxygen. Hashi was clearly elated by his achievement, eyes wide as he waited for Sasuke to say something.

_Was this what his aniki had sacrificed himself for? Innocent lives of those he knew and didn't?_

"What do you think nii-san?" he pressed on impatiently, moving nearer towards the teen. Sasuke stared at the fish for a moment, before moving his gaze to Hashi's eyes.

"It's a pretty fish."

This was like the brotherly interaction he and Itachi used to share… so familiar and nostalgic.

"Hashi! Put the fish back! It's dying!"

"Eh?"

She scrambled towards the two males and carried the brunette to the lake, squatting down at the edge as she broke away and urged Hashi into the water.

"Let it go." Sasuke heard her instructed. Hashi gave her an unconvinced stare, looking over her shoulders towards him. Sasuke let out a nod of reassurance, clearly supporting the idea of letting loose the fish.

Hesitantly, Hashi bent over slightly and lowered his hands down to the water. The fish wriggled from the confines of the five-year old and his grip, flowing steadily away from the three of them. Hashi pouted juvenilely, eyes watching as the fish swam further and further away.

_Was this what his aniki had wanted? For him to live a life his older brother could only wish for?_

After all these times of self-inflicted anger, sorrow,

revenge.

Was this what his brother had aimed for? To sacrifice everything to protect this peaceful and bustling Konoha?

_To have him feel this weirdly pleasant feeling, have him experience these things that Itachi himself would never be able live through his life to understand? _

If this was so…

Sasuke glanced up at the sky, his eyes staring at nothing in particular.

"Arigatou…Aniki…"

_Perhaps, his brother was even more respectable, more self-sacrificing than anyone could ever imagine…_

.:Chapter 9 End:.

R&R! :D


	11. Cupid in a form of a five year old

Disclaimer..I do not own any of the characters in this story, except Haruka and Hashi!

I kept this chapter longer too! Since it is technically the tenth chapter!

Reviews!

Thanks Lighting Wings! I didn't count prologue as a chapter before, and I took out the entire Turning Back Time series for now, so it'll seem more organized now :D This will be the 11th Chapter!!

Thanks Rebellious Till Death! I keep up with the manga (muahahah!) I wanted to do an ItachiOC fanfiction initially though.. but he's too...complicated and I'm not up to that level yet :D

Thanks OpaquexSmiles! Eek! Thats one uber long review!! I'm trying to keep it in character :D And I really wanted to have that brother and brother relationship alittle, to make it seem more family-like! Isn't the new prologue better! That's because the previous one was thrash! I'm trying to keep up with the manga to grasp Sasuke's character better, hopefully it'll help to improve my writing!

& then, theres the rest of the readers! Thanks for reading!

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 11 Cupid in the form of a five-year old**

_Sometimes, the best advice can come from the most innocent mind. And the best answer can be the simplest one. _

Dragging the oversized pillow behind him, the little figure shuffled dully through the dark hallway, eye fixated on the door of his destination. He stopped right in front of the sliding door and knocked on the surface a few times.

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He was suffering from sleepless nights these days. Pillows leaning on the headboard as he sat on the pale sheets, one hand lazily laid on his stomach while the other placed next to him.

There was always something that was constantly bugging him, nagging in his brains. Images will flash in his mind, memories. Every one of them would eventually lead back to one particular person.

"_I believe you're suffering from some obsessive training disorder…"_

"_You know, Naruto had it just as bad as you, how about you cut him some slack?"_

"_Sakura must be thrilled to have you all for herself when you guys leave for that mission."_

"_You're too competitive, Naruto too… Don't overdo it, or you'll regret it someday."_

"_I've never met Hatake Kakashi before… he sounds…unusual."_

"_It's a shame I can't see you fight during the Chunin exams… I'll just have to give you my morale support."_

Irritated, he lifted a hand from the bed sheet and clutched onto strands of his hair as he forced the thoughts out of his mind.

"_What are you planning Sasuke?"_

"Shut up…" he mumbled, hands pulling on his hair so tightly it felt like his scalp was being scrunched together. He found no release from his past, they would cling on him at night, devoid him of any peace and quiet when the night set in. The memories were never happy ones, they constantly reminded him of the sins he had committed, the lives he had taken, the hearts he had broken.

_Like a child afraid of the monster under the bed._

He was condemned to a life of regrets, and he would welcome it willingly. The punishment wasn't enough to repay the debts, but it was the closest he would get. Sasuke felt utterly hopeless and useless, he couldn't save the ones that were dead, and he failed to protect the ones that were alive.

He had made the one that loved him the most die to protect _him._

He had made the ones that cared about him grief over_ him._

"_I'm tired…" she fought down fresh feelings of sorrow and blinked her hidden tears right back into her body, with only a few escaping her struggles to control herself. Wiping away a teardrop with the back of her hand, she turned to Sasuke and forced a faint smile, _

"_**I'm not chasing after you anymore."**_

He forced his eyes shut, frowning as his teeth clamped together uncomfortably while his hand tugged at side of his hair even harder.

"_Are you disappointed?" his question held no signs of mockery._

_She breathed in an excessive amount of air, shoulders rising up exaggeratedly as she allowed her them to fall smoothly when she exhaled._

"_Yes."_

The burning emotion that scorched his throat was getting painfully unbearable. It was a mixture of different feelings, a dangerous chemical reaction. Everything that he avoided and ran away from would eventually return to haunt him in the night.

It was the soft knocking on his door that tugged him away from his hell. Struggling to regain his composure, he released the vice grip on his raven hair and lifted himself off the bed as he strode towards the door. His hand made contact with the hard wooden handle as he slid it open.

"What are you doing here?" his voice was unintentionally soft and quiet, his mind not quite used to the sudden change and lockdown of memories he had gained control of.

Hashi, hands gripped onto a side of his pillow, stared up at Sasuke with round and pleading eyes, he shifted to grab the middle of the pillow in front of him like a protective gear.

"Nii-san… I can't sleep…"

His face bemused, head tilted to rest on the side of the door as his lacklustre eyes settled on the child. He closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating the available options.

Then again, he never had a choice in the first place…

Hashi took his sidestep as a welcoming gesture and grinned, his previous downcast mood lightened. He walked unsteadily into the room, peeking around unfamiliar and normally forbidden room. Well, one thing was for sure – the room was just as dark and depressing, maybe all it needed was colours…

But that would get him into a whole lot of trouble. No, it was definitely not worth it…

The room was simple. A bed shoved up against the wall at the centre of the room, shelves of books leaned against the wall at the far corner of the room with a table situated a feet away from the shelves. The walls were painted a fading pale, the only source of light reflected by the moon from the only window in the room.

This was a boring room… compared to his of course.

Sasuke had allowed the little devil to 'decorate' and 'paint' his room to his likings. Thus resulting in the invasion of evil 'green freaks' all over the walls. Though it had really helped brighten the room to some extent, there was no way the Uchiha would allow his room to be decorated the same way.

Hashi wasted no time in making himself feel at ease. He walked up towards the bed – throwing the pillow onto the bed first – and plopped himself above the soft, white covers. The bed was twice the size of his, and unexpectedly comfortable. On instincts, he curled into a ball on his sides, messing the previously perfectly creaseless covers as he sighed in contentment.

"Roll over."

The five-year old compiled, moving over as he clutched onto the corner of the blanket. The fabric wounded around him like a sushi roll while it covered half of his face.

"Look Nii-san! I'm Pervert-san!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and tugged at the blanket, flipped the little boy effortlessly out of his 'sushi state' and threw the material over Hashi's body.

"Sleep." He ordered, turning over before he sat on the ground, back supported by the bed frame.

_As if such a boring command was going to humour Hyuu Hashi…_

He struggled, hands moving to hold on to his pillow as he kicked off the blanket restlessly. Legs made contact with the floor with a gentle pat as he too, sunk to ground next to the raven-haired teen. Sasuke closed his eyes in exhaustion; head lowering as he sides of his locks moved and covered his face.

"Go back and sleep Hashi…" he kept his eyes lowered, not sparing a glance at the boy beside him. Hashi, completely unfazed by his cold attitude, scooted closer and tightened his hold on his stuffy possession.

"I can't sleep."

He would've groaned, but kept the noise right back down his throat. Breathing in silently, he brought his head up and stared down at his side, where curious eyes met his.

"What do you want to do then?"

The sparkling in his eyes was unmistakable. His mind was suddenly fully alive and working, churning out billions of things to do. Almost immediately, Sasuke regretted his offer.

"Nothing that involves physical movement." He added quickly, hoping to extinguish preferably all of his crazy antics. It had worked. Hashi pouted in disappointment, his previously upbeat mood vanished along with his plans.

Though it really didn't last long.

"Let's talk!" he scrambled on all fours and crawled to settle in front of the teen, legs crossed with his hands pressed eagerly on the ground in front of him. He leaned forward and grinned as Sasuke stared at him, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"About what?"

"You! Let's play twenty questions!" with that said, Hashi broke into an even wider grin, teeth showed and eyes closed slightly when the muscle that tugged his mouth grew tighter by the smile. His poker-faced expression wavered, slight confusion surfaced, then hardened to a look of absolute objection.

"I'll go to sleep the moment we finish." He coaxed, edging closer as he put on his most adoring look. It wasn't the expression that won Sasuke over. Obviously, it was the offer.

"Just get on with it."

He didn't know how it was possible for the little boy's smile to grow even larger…

* * *

"Naruto-nii said that Pervert-san has a fish mouth. Is that true?" His wide curious eyes stared with bold ignorance at the raven-haired teen before him, applying more pressure to the palm of his hands as he pressed forward. He was interested in not just Uchiha Sasuke now…

He was concerned with the infamous copycat ninja of Konoha too… Though he would prefer the name Pervert-san better…

"I've never seen his face before."

Well, that was a disappointment…

"Last question before you go to sleep."

Hashi puckered his lips and whined reluctantly, hands shuffling and messing his brown hair in denial. Sasuke smiled slightly at him, though it was gone before the five-year old even raised his head to look at him again. It really wasn't how he thought it would be. It felt light and refreshing, like the load on his shoulders were lifted for a moment when he spoke with the boy.

Though it immediately vanished when he witnessed the "face full of mischief" look as it slowly surfaced. Eyes narrowed suspiciously, a crooked smile resembling a smirk fitted into place before it broke into an evil grin.

That same look Naruto used to have whenever he felt like he had an ingenious prank thought out…

Eyes still twinkling in unknown delight, he asked his last question.

"Do you like Haruka-nee or Sakura-nee better?"

_That explains everything…_ He sighed, hands moving forward as they gripped onto Hashi's outstretched forearm. He lifted the little boy up like a doll, earning a delighted squeal in the process, and twirled him in the air and up the bed.

"Ne… you haven't answered me yet!"

"It doesn't have an answer." He tossed the blanket over Hashi the second time of the night, but the little monster strugglde and abandoned the fabric to the ground. He sat up almost immediately and lunged for Sasuke's arm. For a five-year old, he sure had a strong grip…

"…You do realize that it won't work?"

He nodded his head vigorously, backing up his defence, "I'll cry."

"That won't work too."

"Do you like Haruka-nee?"

_This boy was really too inquisitive for his own good… _Sasuke frowned and stared at the brunette dully. "What do you know about liking someone?"

Hashi loosened his grip as his mind attempted to recall what he had seen. His hands lowered at hold on to the raven-haired teen's wrist. Finally, he broke into another grin and returned his gaze.

"You think of her everyday, you feel empty without her, and you feel listless if you don't see her everyday!" he was apparently extremely satisfied and proud with his analysis, gripping onto the Uchiha's wrist tighter in excitement.

"Where did you learn it from?"

This time, Hashi laughed, infantile and triumphant. He had managed to sneak into Haruka's bag on several occasions. The books were obviously too unintelligible for him to comprehend, but he had managed to piece some of the words together – based on his five-year old knowledge – and came up with a rough idea.

Sasuke, however, was not too pleased with the idea of being questioned like that. Deciding to avoid the question, he swiftly shook his hand loose and covered the boy with the blanket. In the midst of all of Hashi's struggling, he had managed to pin him to the bed and finally threatened him to sleep.

"If you don't sleep now, you can go back to your _own _room."

And that was when it hit him. Sasuke had almost forgotten why Hashi was here in the first place.

"What did you dream about?" he was not genuinely curious, just a casual question of concern. Hashi's face fell; his eyes avoided the teen's dark orbs.

"It's…nothing…"

Sasuke noticed the change, and he knew well what it meant. It was inappropriate for him to probe further.

He would tell when he was ready…

"Forget it then, just go to sleep."

* * *

She strolled along the familiar long stretch of corridor, hands moving exaggeratingly. Her eyes turned ideally, observing the different characters written on the scrolls displayed on the walls. Her footsteps softened and slowed when she was ten feet away from the Hokage's office, distracted by the slamming of table.

_She had definitely picked the wrong time to give her report on Sasuke's condition…_

* * *

Head supported by her palms and elbows on the counter, she grinned brightly at nothing in particular. He sat opposite her, sitting parallel to the counter with one hand resting on the surface and eyed her suspiciously.

"Something happened." He spoke with no doubts, as if it was more of a statement. She turned her head slightly and glanced at him wordlessly, her smile still plastered on her face.

"Tsunade-sama said I could go back."

He kept silent, face impassive and bored. If she was going to be back at work, does that mean that _Naruto _would be here everyday?

"And Hashi?" it was an indirect way to ask if his caretaker would change to a certain blonde dobe if she was going to go back to work.

"I'm only working half day… that means I'll have lesser pay…" she shrugged, sliding her arms off the table top lazily before stretching it to the air.

"What is Hashi doing anyway?"

The little monster had _kindly invited _his two elder friends to wait for him in the kitchen while he disappeared into the house, assuring them that he would be right back.

"Most likely something stupid."

She opened her mouth, ready to retort as she turned back to glare at the raven-haired teen. But stopped when she realised that, well, it _was _logical… So, she settled for a huff as she turned her gaze towards the window again grudgingly, visibly stumped.

The corner of his lips twitched a little, though he had managed to cover it up with a grim line. His thoughts drifted slowly back to the previous night.

"_You think of her everyday, you feel empty without her, and you feel listless if you don't see her everyday!"_

He knew that he had long developed a distinct acquaintance sort of relationship with this girl, and had never thought twice about the concept of ever liking someone in a couple's way. He found it stupid, always having to report each other's situation every now and then like how his mother used to do it.

But one thing about love, is that it would always happen when you least expected it, just when you thought that it was impossible to fall in love.

His mother had told him that once, when he was extremely young, when boys found girls weird and ugly creatures and that they would never marry one. But if what Hashi had said were true… he would need to have a look at his statement again.

He had absolutely no idea what he wanted, or what he thought of this girl. Was it just because she was a little less vain, a little more boyish and different that made her stand out – like he had always thought so,

Or was he falling for her?

Why did he felt sorry for her when he left? Why was she one of the last few people he found nearly impossible to forget?

"Er-hem!"

He looked at her while she stared back at him. Nope, none of them made the sound. So that means…

Haruka turned her head to the doorway, her eyes widen in shock and humour as she set her orbs on the boy in front of her. He was wearing a navy blue top, with a familiarly huge collar. It was obviously too big of a size that the shorts were barely picking out. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Where did you get that?"

"I found it deep in your closet." Was his only response. The five-year old had his little hand withdrew and shrugged the sliding collar into place; his mouth was covered up by it. "I am here today-"

"What…are…you…wearing Hashi?" her voice came out in bits and pieces, complement to her still stubborn laughter that were extremely wager to burst. The sleeves were long enough to cover up to his elbows…

He seemed fatter, shorter, and no doubt adorable.

"The child is speaking, do not interrupt!" Hashi furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest, the fabric creased.

Sasuke lifted in eyebrow in amusement, smirking faintly at the boy as he watched the black-haired girl frowned and narrowed her eyes irritatedly at the boy.

As usual, it had no effect on Hashi.

Coughing dramatically, Hashi beamed and raised his voice grandly.

"I am going to be a ninja!"

End Chapter 11.

Spitting out blood I'm sorry if things seem off in this chapter.. I was having alot of trouble finding time to type... :(


	12. Facade

Disclaimer: Do not own any of the characters in this story except for Hashi, Haruka & Ryou

10 Chapters of foundation building based chapters, it's time to enter the plotline ;D

Reviews ;D

Thanks OpaquexSmiles! ;D I have this...problem. I get out of point realllllll easily. The original thing was to let Sasuke think about Haruka, but I got lost in the typing soon after... urgh I really need to keep myself in check sometimes! I'm trying to make use of Hashi's bubbly personality before he runs out of time...hoho

Thanks ani-sand! Letting him be a ninja was the initial idea, but I found that it's not logical to have six-year old children carrying sharp pointy knives screaming "kill kill!" ;D Ah well!

Thanks imm0rtal! No offenses taken ;D At least I have an idea how the story is going, it gets hard since I'm kinda weak at recognizing some of those mistakes ;D Tons on appreciation for the note, and I'm serious!

Thanks bLo0d-rEd-r0se! Heh, I need to really read over the chapters before posting, it gets boring but its effective! Thanks for the note, I really appreciate it! And if there's any mistake in the chapters do let me know! ;D

Thanks Kouyan! It's late, but it's done! My head is spinning, I need sleep ;D

Thanks 13Lulu's! Awkward? hmm... I'll go back and review that chapter again! ;D

& to all readers, thanks for reading!

* * *

**Broken bonds.**

**Chapter 12: Facade**

His hand was stuffed deep inside his pocket, one feet planted firmly on the ground while he the other lightly tapped the ground with the heel of his shoe. His messy, dark brown hair faintly covered his eyes as he glanced at the blonde woman with a tilted head and a small smile.

"A pleasure to meet the Hokage of the Konohagakure."

Tsunade offered a small scoff and leaned back on the chair, hands over her chest as she smirked devilishly. "Cut the formalities."

The figure chuckled and raised a hand, running it through his hair once before placing it behind his neck. Tsunade reached forward, her hands gripped on the ink-filled paper and giving it a short glance. Her eyes hardened as she fixed a gaze at the young man before her again.

"Of all the times to break the news, may I ask why you chose now?" her voice strong and filled with indescribable authority. The youth lowered his eyes to the ground as his hand slid off the back of his neck.

"I promised Sensei to do something before I start looking for her." His voice had suggested that the rest was private and he was unwilling to reveal anymore. Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back to rest her head on the top of the seat. The figure fidgeted restlessly, feet drawing randomly on the ground as he contemplated the right words to speak.

"If it's possible, may I request a favour?"

The blonde Hokage slowly peeled open her eyes as they rolled to stare at his curiously. Sensing nothing menacing or suspicious, she offered a nod.

Satou Ryou smiled.

* * *

_When a beautiful family is torn up._

_When a beautiful fairytale ends._

_When everything's made to be broken. When everything comes to an end. _

_Would you cling on to something that is begging to leave? Or will you chose to let it fly?_

* * *

The soft scrunching of dried up grasses being stepped on and the chattering of a young boy were the only sound that filled the forest. His fingers slipped and intertwined with the older girl's hand firmly.

Tighter than usual, actually.

The two trailed behind the raven-haired Uchiha, who was leading the way, hands deep in his bottom wear. His eyes were closed, taking in the serene scenery. Hashi took a moment to examine his surroundings again, the glint in his eyes dimmer as he tightened the hold on his caretaker's hand.

_Trees… everywhere… _

_He groped on in the darkness, stumbling over every now and then under the gloom of towering trees and the oppressive silence._

_Darkness… engulfing… threatening…_

_He continued on, sweat rolling down as his clothes clung on him stickily. His head swerved to the right, then the left. He fidgeted and his lips trembled in fear._

'_Where…am I?'_

_His heartbeat accelerated as he wandered deeper and deeper into the maze of nature, the moonlight no longer showering him with any more direction or help as the thick canopy of leaves covered him. His breath came out faster and more uneven, his brains going haywire from confusion and terror. _

_His anxiety deepened. Pushing away the low branches, he was too distracted to feel the sharp edges cutting and scraping away his skin. It took forever, just when he thought he was doomed, the last tree disappeared from his view as he stood; his wary eyes scanned the clearing._

_His eyes stopped and locked on a figure crouching over, back facing him. The figure was lying on the ground…_

_Lying… on the ground?_

_A feminine looking figure, black hair trailing down and tumbled to the ground behind her as streaks shone distinctly under the now full moon. Her legs crossed awkwardly, only the grey on the back of her top, the little hood that was slightly covered by her hair._

_Black hair?_

_Even just staring at the back of her figure, the tears on the fabric was visible, the sole of her sandals soiled with mud. _

"_Nee…san?" his courage melted away as he felt her cries grow louder and louder. Gulping down his fear, he steeled him and took a step forward. He whispered her name again and again. Finally, right behind her, he got down on one knee and reached forward, murmuring her name again._

"_Haruka nee?"_

"…shi? Hashi?"

The concerned voice and the gentle tug on his hands brought him back to reality as he blinked several times, eyes scanning his surroundings again before looking up at the face of the teen. Ashamed that he had been caught zoning off at such a bad timing, he directed his gaze forward, only to find that the Uchiha had also stopped and was staring at him sceptically.

"Are you alright?" she lowered herself to her knees and slid her hands to hold on to his elbows, turning him to face her. Hashi took another moment to gaze around at his surroundings again before reaching a hand out to grasp the black-haired female's hand.

He nodded wordlessly, slightly distracted and listless. Haruka frowned and leaned forward, one of her hand moved to cup his cheek. She turned her head and glanced at the sixteen year old questioningly. He never caught her gaze, staring at the brunette blankly.

"_Nii-san… wha…" his voice trailed off as he stared at his hands, fiddling with them restlessly. Taking in a deep breath, he shook his little head before looking up at Sasuke again._

"_What would you do if someone hurts Haruka-nee?"_

_He raised an eyebrow at his random question. Of all the questions he could ask…_

"_What am I supposed to say?" it was nothing but a game to him, but something important to the little boy. Hashi leaned forward and scared intently at him._

"_You'll protect her right?" urgency evident in his voice as he pressed further, repeating the words over and over. _

_And, in the end, a mute and frustrated nod was the promise he got. But that was enough for him._

'_Nii-san doesn't lie…'_

A dull noise sounded through the silence as the trio swerved their head to look in front. The unnaturally grey smoke subsided and a figure stepped nearer to towards them. Hashi visibly flinched and gripped his caretaker's hand even more tightly, pushing himself closer to the girl.

"Haruka-san, the Hokage asked for you."

_What?_

She turned and stole a glance at the raven-haired, who returned her with an unwavering gaze. Moving to face Hashi again, she freed and placed both hands on the boy's shoulders and created a little distance. "We'll leave for training next time, I'll be back alright?"

His eyes were clouded with reluctance, hands reaching up to grab one of her hands firmly again. Haruka furrowed her eyebrows and traced his cheek with his finger.

"I'll come back as soon as I can."

Hashi offered one more depressed stare, lips curving to a frown as he slowly, tentatively, released his hold. She gave a weak but reassuring smile before standing up again.

"Wait for me."

And then, she disappeared along with the ninja, away from the forest.

"Let's go…"

Sasuke stepped nearer towards the brunette, his hand reaching out to nudge the boy forward softly before he retreated it back into his pocket. Hashi gripped on to the corner of the Uchiha's shirt as he trudged forward silently.

No one spoke through the entire way back.

* * *

Her fist knocked gently on the wooden door as she awaited the usual gruff and irritated voice.

"Come in." She blinked at the seemingly calm voice. _Calm before a storm? _Her hand slid down and she twisted the doorknob cautiously, her eyes glanced around the room sharply before landing on a strange figure. Her feet slowly brought her forward as she stopped, a few feet next to the stranger.

The Godaime Hokage tilted her head towards the stranger before meeting the eyes of a confused girl. "I like you to meet this young fellow here Haruka."

She turned her head slowly to the boy beside her, offering a small smile and a bow. "Ashiyata Haruka."

The boy – probably no older than she was – eyed her for a moment, his eyes softened when they locked with her forest green orbs before breaking onto a smile.

"Satou Ryou."

She nodded and shot a questioning gaze at the blonde woman, who returned her with a smirk. She waved a single hand at the sixteen year old boy. The youth, understanding the gesture, nodded wordlessly and turned towards the door.

'_Click'_

She rushed into the interrogation almost right away.

"Why me?"

Tsunade sighed, rising slowly from her seat as she turned slowly to walk towards her, all the while rehearsing her lines in her head. "I hate to do this too… but we're really short-handed right now, and I need to have someone escort him around the village."

She gazed at the woman, her eyes disbelieving. "Who is he?"

'_Whew… Luckily he saw that coming just now…'_

"He's here on behalf of the Waterfall Country."

"For?"

The blonde Hokage slid an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the door, "This," she stopped and flung open the door before giving the black-haired girl a gentle push. "You have no need to know for now." The last thing Haruka saw was a wink, a smirk, and the door slammed shut.

Leaving her in an extremely awkward position, in a deserted hallway with some… boy whom she had met merely minutes ago. She wrung her hands together while the stranger offered an amused grin. Ryou pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against as he gestured forward.

"Ready to go?"

She smiled before biting her lower lip, mind only focused on one thing. "Do you mind… if we visit someone's house first?"

"You're not a ninja?"

"Nope." His laughed, turning his head to face the girl beside her as they ambled through the streets of Konoha. Haruka frowned, her head lowered to the ground as she pondered over the news, her hands clasped behind her back.

"What about you?" his voice was unusually gentle, bright.

_Such a huge contrast between him and that… that piece of black ice…_

The thought itself scared her silly. Why was she comparing someone with him? Haruka shook her head rid of the thoughts as she continued forward. The boy eyed her from the corner of his eyes, scanning her silently.

"_She'll be a beautiful flower when she grows up. A beautiful lady that will marry someone worthy of her."_

"I'm a natural… dunce in the way of the ninja." Haruka grinned at him, unashamed as he laughed at his answer.

"But I did make it past as a genin," she defended half-heartedly, "Barely… I have low chakra level by nature, I gave up and worked at the hospital now."

"And your team?"

She sighed, her shoulders slumped as trampled the ground heavily. "Moved on to bigger and better things, those bakas haven't visited me since two months ago!" She stomped the ground with one foot and frowned grudgingly as her companion glanced at her, obviously amused.

"So you're always alone now?"

"HARU-CHAN!"

"I wouldn't say that…" She smiled mirthfully as the duo turned to look over their shoulders. Her mind barely registered the flash of bright sunshine as he charged and skittled skilfully to a stop right in front of them. Naruto beamed radiantly as his eyes locked with the black-haired female.

"Afternoon Haru-chan!" his energetic mood was contagious. Haruka offered a greeting as the boy switched his attention to the unfamiliar looking boy. Before he had a chance to ask, the chocolate-haired teen offered a polite bow.

"Ryou, nice to meet you."

The blonde ninja grinned as he bowed awkwardly, unused to such formalities. "Naruto." His attention redirected back to the girl. "You're visiting teme too?" Haruka nodded as she turned and started walking again. Naruto broke out into another infectious smile as he folded his arms ideally behind his head.

"Great! I'll come with!"

* * *

"Sasuke!"

'BAM'

Before the blonde had a chance to finish his sentence, the raven-haired Uchiha had slammed the door shut right after he narrowed his eyes at the dazzling brightness of Naruto's smile, clearly in a bad mood. Naruto visibly twitched as he trashed the door.

"Oi! Open up bastard!"

Ryou, standing behind the irritated Naruto, frowned as Haruka suppressed a smile. Sensing his disapproval, she nudged his arm before whispering softly.

"It's how they bond. Don't worry about it."

"It's… unusual…" he couldn't find the right words to describe as he continued watching the boy, banging the door like it was something sinister. Haruka broke into a full smile.

"Sasuke knows Naruto would never just leave, he used to taunt him just to evoke some reaction out of the poor boy. Its how they communicate, Naruto knows that too." She reasoned. The door was flung open in one fluid moment as a pair of black orbs glared at the boy at his doorsteps.

"Would it kill you to shut up for five seconds?"

"I'm not stupid teme; you would never open up unless I trash your door." He retorted smugly, his eyes peered over his friend's shoulders as the familiar brunette darted pass Sasuke.

"Nee-san!" He ran, he braced, and he jumped. Right into the arms of the girl as he locked his arms around her neck tightly.

Something was wrong… Something was definitely wrong… Even Naruto frowned. She caught the gaze of the raven-haired teen and slowly released the boy. Cupping his head in her palms, she spoke cheerfully – at least, as blithely as the situation allows.

"Come on, let's learn to be a ninja."

"Speak." She demanded. Sasuke rolled his eyes and cast a look at the female beside her, before turning to look in front of him again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Haruka puffed her cheeks up and exhaled heavily, allowing the air to be released steadily out of her mouth as she turned her head and stared solemnly at Sasuke. The two of them trailed behind while the three boys strode forward, Naruto's appearance had been a major influence, with the little brunette now talking and expressing more merrily.

"What happened to him?" her voice was calmer, lower as a precaution. The young Uchiha kept silent, his mind reeling back to the recent events.

"He said he couldn't sleep last night."

She raised an eyebrow, her head lowered as she stared at the ground. "And?"

_--_

"_You'll protect her right?" urgency evident in his voice as he pressed further, repeating the words over and over. _

_--_

_Hashi took a moment to examine his surroundings again, the glint in his eyes dimmer as he tightened the hold on his caretaker's hand._

_--_

_Hashi took another moment to gaze around at his surroundings again before reaching a hand out to grasp the black-haired female's hand._

_--_

_His eyes were clouded with reluctance, hands reaching up to grab one of her hands firmly again._

--

"Probably something to do with you." He answered monotonously, eyes sliding to observe her reactions again. Her eyes widened slightly, her steps faltered before she narrowed her eyes.

"Me?" he offered no other response, looking forward at the three figures again. His eyes focused on to one of them and he stared at his back quietly.

"That guy."

She blinked, snapping out of her trance as she lifted her gaze up to her face. "Huh?"

"What is he doing here?" His voice was still the same. Not a single emotion betrayed his face. Uchiha Sasuke was never one to meet new friends, heck, he didn't even like associate with those he know...

"Oh," her face twisted into a look of uncertainty as she answered him dully. "He's from the Waterfall Country, Tsunade-sama asked me to be his guide on his stay here."

Haruka shrugged exaggeratedly, "Bah, enough about that, it's not important… Should we… ask Hashi?"

"He'll tell when he's ready."

"But-"

"Trust him." His voice was firmer this time, utterly confident of his statement. Enough to assure her. Haruka's gaze darted forward again, glancing tiredly at the little brunette.

"Alright then."

End Chapter...

A/N : I'm losing my touch at writing these days...sigh maybe the right word would be, 'I'm losing time to write these days'... I just had two papers today, three more to go!

This was a shotgun update, something I've been doing very often recently, sorry for the delay guys!

Chapter 12 marks the start of the plot! What's a story without a proper problem? ;D


	13. Trust

Disclaimer: I owe none of the characters in this FanFiction except for Haruka, Ryou & Hashi.

Reviews :)

Thanks 13Lulu's! He kinda serves that criteria huh? :D

Thanks EggrollPerson! I really hope that this chapter isn't too bad... The chapter seems kinda weird :P

Thanks unknown player! Here's the late update! Kids are just too cute, until they decide to invade your room and destroy your things ;D

Thanks ani-sand! Yup Yup! I'm getting to the plot :D I went to read your fanfictions(no, I'm not a stalker!), I really like your style! Update soon :D

Thanks OpaquexSmiles! I'm free for the rest of the year starting now! :D Nah, there's a lot more extremely awesome writer's out there that I'm learning from. I'm still struggling to keep the things smooth. Struggling :P

Thanks Lighting Wings! You should update soon too! :D I'm also reading your dynasty warriors fanfictions!

Thanks kibafangirl11! You have reviewed a lot of chapters at once haven't you :D I appreciate and read them all! Hope this chapter isn't too much of a letdown for you alright?

* * *

**Broken Bonds. **

**Chapter 13 Trust**

"Hey! Aim at the dang tree, not at me!"

"I can't do it! The kunai keeps swerving to the side!"

"That's because you're throwing it the wrong way! Don't move!" Naruto kept both hands in front of him as he approached the dangerous brunette warily. He moved behind Hashi and slowly – as if one wrong move would cause him his life, which, maybe it will… – and cupped his hands with his.

"You don't swerve to your side, just stop at the direction of your target," the blonde maneuvered the child's hand carefully. Hashi kept his eyes narrowed in concentration, frowning like it would aid in the throw. "Now move it, and throw." The kunai left the grip of the brunette and flew directly to the front, narrowly missing the tree though.

Hashi pouted, lifted his head up and gave a serious stare at Naruto.

"Neh… You're not a very good ninja Naruto-nii… You can't even hit the tree." His voice was so serious, so positive that it was not his fault that it sent two of their spectators laughing, while the third one only turned his attention to observe his teammate, obviously awaiting the reaction he knew would come.

Naruto's face turned pink in embarrassment, then red in agitation as he stuttered unknowingly.

"W…What do you mean me?! Y…You…"

Hashi had lost interest in the conversation then, turning to face the three teens that were idly sitting at the bottom of a tree. "Can you teach me Sasuke-nii?"

Haruka turned her head sharply to Ryou's side, hiding her face from view as she struggled to laugh noiselessly at Naruto's agitation. Ryou glanced at her, amusement lingering in his eyes while the black-haired girl covered her mouth with one hand, the other pressed on the ground, her body shaking uncontrollably. Even Sasuke turned and stared at her, completely ignoring Hashi's request and Naruto's outburst.

"This has nothing to do with the teacher! Asking that teme to teach you won't make a difference." The hyperactive teen argued, arms crossed over his chest, undignified. Hashi frowned and pouted childishly, one hand stayed on his hips while the other pointed directly at Naruto.

"You're a bad sensei!"

"W…what?"

"Bad sensei! Bad sensei!"

"It's not my-"

"Baddddddddd sensei!" he continued to taunt, grinning foolishly.

"Argh! That's it!" Naruto growled, hands flung up in the air in distress as he charged towards the boy. Hashi squealed in surprise as Naruto reached over and threw him over his back. The blonde ninja grinned manically while the boy on his back screamed. Yet, the arguing ceased to lessen.

One thing Naruto had failed to learn, was that it was never wise to fight with a kid.

Sucking in a large amount of breath, Hashi brought his legs high up and swung them down at a tremendous speed, right onto the stomach of Uzumaki Naruto.

The poor blonde gasped and hunched over, releasing the hold on the little monster as he scrambled towards Haruka for precautions. The dark-haired girl eyed warily at Naruto for a moment, before turning to frown at Hashi.

"Aren't you going to apologize?" Hashi blinked innocently at the question. Finally, he sighed and reluctantly turned to the youth that was still rubbing his stomach.

"I'm sorry Naruto-nii…"

Naruto grimaced in silent agony.

"…that you're such a bad sensei." The little monster himself seemed pleasingly smug about his statement, no one could detect a single hint of guilt. Ryou bit his lips and looked down while Sasuke only sat and watched as the steaming boy exploded from frustration overload. His amusement was more visible now, one corner of his lips tilted so faintly upwards that no one seemed to notice.

Haruka gave a half-hearted laugh as she sat up straighter and wrapped her arms around Hashi's waist. "Let's… just… end the training…?"

Naruto pouted and huffed while Hashi grinned and nodded. After making sure that there were no suspicious intent in Naruto's eyes, Haruka released the little boy as they ventured into the deeper parts of the forest – where most of the kunai knives where last seen after being thrown off course. Just as they were about to leave Haruka's sight of vision, Hashi had promptly tugged at Naruto's hand and whispered something incoherent.

Both of them shared a smirk and turned back to the three sitting teens. Hashi broke off from Naruto and ran towards the dark-brown haired Waterfall civilian. "Come help Ryou-nii!"

And thus, after much tugging, much doubting smirks and Hashi's wink towards Sasuke, they disappeared energetically into the forest.

The black-haired genin turned and glared at the impassive face of her companion warily. "What was that… that winking?"

Sasuke turned his head slightly to her and gave a tiny shrug, which did nothing but aggravated her. She released a sigh and leant back on the tree, eyes trained on the general direction the three boys had gone off.

"Hashi seems… better…" she remarked. He turned and glanced at her again, absentmindedly noting that the colour of her orbs matched the forest trees rather prominently.

Looking at him again, she felt like the words were all stuck in her throat again. That alluring, soothing effect his eyes always have, boring into her own. It felt so uncomfortable, yet she found it hard to tear her gaze away. Lethal, like drugs, so hard to turn away.

_No. She was not falling for those eyes again._

Haruka swallowed hard and switched her gaze to the bracelet, fiddling with it again. Sasuke kept his steady gaze on her form.

"Naruto's probably the reason…" she continued the one-man conversation, unwilling to succumb to awkward silences. This was different from the usual silence.

"Hn." He turned and stared forward, at the tree idly; face still to form that usual stony expression.

'That nostalgic response…'She thought dryly. "If you keep hanging that same expression on your face, it's going to get stuck that way and you might never smile again."

Sasuke turned and offered another blank stare at her, while she smiled back at him cheerily.

The familiar cloud of smoke exploded not far away, as the two turned their attention back to the front. A man stepped out and bowed to the two, greeting them.

"Hokage-sama seeks Ashiyata Haruka and Hyuu Hashi immediately."

'Again…?' she thought solemnly, slightly rebellious towards the order. Nevertheless, she nodded in acceptance, only groaning after the Chuunin was gone.

"Urghhhhhh! I lost a kunai!" the muffled voice sounded through the woods.

"Calm down, you can always get another one."

"Next time, we'll train inside teme's house!"

"Wouldn't that destroy Sasuke's house?"

"That's the point."

"You're a bad friend too Naruto-nii." By then, the three had emerged and stepped onto the clearings, Naruto frowned and turned to point yet another accusing finger at the little boy.

"What?! Y-you…"

"Ooookay!" She interrupted, rushing to tug Hashi nearer to her as she beamed at the crowd. "Let's go. Now."

* * *

The five paced casually out of the clearings, all the while arguing and talking over unimportant things. Haruka stopped when they stepped onto the main street.

"Well, we'll see you later than."

Hands interlaced with the young boy, Haruka turned and left as Naruto yelled a reply. The remaining three were left to stare back and forth at each other. One was too uncaring to talk, one was too unfamiliar with the group to speak, while the last one…

Well, the last one didn't need to think twice about what he wanted.

"Do you guys wanna eat something?"

Sasuke sighed. _He was certainly the most predictable ninja in the whole of Konoha._ Ryou contemplated the offer before shaking his head as his eyes secretly slid to the forest for a nanosecond. "I'll have to bail; I have other things to report to the Hokage."

"Next time then?" Naruto prompted.

He returned a nodding gesture and a smile before the raven-haired and the blonde turned to leave. Needless to say, the duo's walk wasn't exactly a quiet one.

"Let's have ramen!"

"No." The voice was softer, less enthusiastic.

"Quit being such a spoilsport teme!"

"Shut up loser."

"OI!"

The brown-haired sixteen-year old chuckled, watching as the two figures disappeared around the corner. He lowered his head and he turned slowly towards the forest again, his eyes half-lidded and he released a heavy sigh. His posture was casual.

At least, it _was _casual… for common villages.

Ryou stopped when he was surrounded by trees once again, where no one was near and closed his eyes, as if concentrating. Barely even registered what happened next, a flick of his hand and something fell to the ground with a soft thump. He turned his head to look over his shoulders; his unwavering gaze stared emotionlessly at the figure behind him. The manly figure grunted as he toppled to the ground, his hands clutching on to the kunai knife embedded on the side of his body.

The same kunai that Naruto had lost.

He turned fully to face the fallen man now, eyes hardened into a glare. The man struggled to lift the upper part of his body while he shot a painful gaze at the teen and snickered. "Too wimpy to kill me, kid?"

Ryou adverted his gaze to the sky, his arms loosely on his sides and a bitter smile flickered across his face.

"Two reasons. One, I hate killing, since I don't want to have to deal with your body afterwards." The man scoffed when he heard this, but kept silent as he continued.

"Two, I want you to relay a message back. Tell that bastard," here, he stopped and jerked his head down to eye the man again. "If I _ever _catch any one of his lackeys here with undesirable motives to _her,_ I will not hesitate to kill." His voice was lower, more menacing and his eyes darkened to a cold glare.

"Leave. Now."

It was an order, not a suggestion, and the man knew better than to sit and retort. Swallowing whatever pride the teen had left for him, he steadied himself slowly and disappeared, leaving merely smoke in his wake.

Releasing his pent up frustration by letting out yet another huge sigh, he turned his head towards his left and broke into a humourless smile.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from the two of you for long."

The mentioned two, hidden behind the shadows, stepped into the sunlight slowly. The handsome face of the blonde reflected anarchy, the delicate pale face of the raven-haired revealed no emotion as usual. Ryou examined their expressions for a moment.

A suffocating silence, before the usually loud-mouthed teen spoke.

"You just… shot a direct hit at that man's sides…" Naruto's voice trailed off halfway as he stared at the brown-haired sixteen-year old. _When he himself claimed, he had no ninja skills at all._

"Would you pretend you never saw that?"

The blonde ninja blinked in surprise, _was he really the same person that was nearly stabbed by a kunai a while ago? _"W…what?"

"Pretend you never saw that." He repeated again.

"What are you hiding?" Sasuke was seemingly unaffected – or undaunted by the new realisation by the way he questioned Ryou. There was something this stranger was keeping from them. Ryou frowned, his hand reaching over to the back of his neck as he rubbed anxiously.

"I'm afraid I can't let you know for now, though I can assure you I mean no harm to anyone in Konoha."

"Haruka is involved in this." it wasn't a question, but a statement. He kept his penetrating gaze on the boy, not even turning when he heard Naruto's befuddled voice.

"Haru-chan's involved?" Eyebrows furrowed, he jerked his head back and forth at the two boys he was standing between, hoping to gain a definite confirmation. The two of them had blatantly ignored the blonde, both staring at each other. Sasuke's gaze hardened at Ryou's obvious hiding of something, while the Waterfall village civilian kept his palm rubbing his neck more vigorously.

"Please understand that it's not my place to decide who to tell right now."

Naruto, who seemed to have been fed up with being left out in the conversation, stepped between to block their eye contact and frowned disdainfully at Ryou. "Then who?"

"Haruka herself." He sighed, moving a few steps back to lean on the tree trunk while he crossed his arms over his chest.

"She doesn't even know you can do that!" he retorted. Obviously, both of Team Seven's members were not fond of being kept in the dark. "She was so frantic when you were almost hit just now!"

"I'll tell her eventually Naruto, I just need more time, and she has to be the first to know."

"What are you waiting for?" The sunshine wanted answers, and he demanded them without any falter. Sasuke didn't even need to ask for them, since his teammate was already doing it. Ryou, on the other hand, was rather reluctant in giving answers.

"This is going to affect Haruka, you don't understand. Just," he stopped, momentarily stumped for words before walking towards Naruto.

"Just trust me on this alright?" His voice softened as he raised a tilted curved palm to the boy. Naruto stared at his hand and regarded him for a few moments.

"_I only need her to be happy, to be safe. Would you do that for me when I'm gone, little boy? That's all I ask in return for all that I've taught you these few months."_

"I care about Haruka, more than you know it." He added unconsciously, eyes shut in concentration for a while.

Naruto turned and glanced at Sasuke expectantly, who merely ignored him as he stared doubtfully at the brown-haired. Finally, casting one last glance at Ryou's face, he raised his own hand and gripped on to the dark browned haired ones.

"Only for now."

"That's all I need."

* * *

Hands still clutching firmly on his caretaker's hand, Hashi eyed the Hokage curiously. After a short-term silence, Tsunade placed both hands firmly on the table and supported herself up to walk around the table. She stopped short in front of the desk and leaned against it.

"I'll like you to meet someone."

As on cue, the door clicked open softly as the figures in the room turned their attention towards the door momentarily. Suddenly, Hashi's heart accelerated, eyes blinked several times as if to confirm that what he saw was not an illusion, before slowly, his mouth opened and the words that he longed to use were delivered.

"Okaa…san? Otou…san?"

The words were uncertain, slow. Haruka turned to look at the boy beside her, before her gaze lifted up to the couple in front of her. The woman widened her eyes, hands flying to cup her mouth as the tears welled up profusely in her eyes. She rushed towards her son and hoisted him up, squeezing him as the tears finally broke loose.

The crying was infectious; it didn't take long for the atmosphere to sink into the warmth of reunion. Hashi, finally recovered from his own disbelief and locked his arms tightly around his mother's neck, face buried at the crook of her neck.

The man, who previously stood at the doorway, approached the hugging pair and ruffled his son's hair affectionately; a tiny smile flickered across his face before his eyes turned towards the Godaime Hokage.

"I can't express my gratitude enough for your benevolence Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded her head towards the black-haired sixteen-year old, "She and her friend were the ones who took Hashi in."

The man's gaze landed on the youth, his smile widened a little as he bowed slightly at her. "Thank you for doing so much for Hashi."

Finally able to regain her ground, she turned her attention to the man and offered a smile of her own.

The woman, whose sobbing had finally subsided, created a little distance between her and her child before speaking up for the first time.

"We can go home now, Hashi-chan."

She didn't know if the pain in her heart was because of the realisation that Hashi was leaving, or because she couldn't help but feel a slight envy for the three. But one thing was for sure.

Hashi… Hashi's going home.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

A/N

Words can't describe the indecency of this chapter :( I get the feeling this is a very 'off' chapter, but if I trash and redo this, it's going to be even worse.

I'm preparing for the step up in relationship in the next chapter, still altering it to make it as gradual as possible… urgh… come on inspiration! Help me in this! Can't be too fluffy, can't be too dull, it has to be in between… hmm…

Yes, if you're wondering, Hashi will probably be gone by the next chapter… I'm still thinking whether to let him make a special appearance in the future chapters…

Lastly, sorry bout the later update, I took a freaking long time trying to make the chapter more fluent. Yes, I gave up eventually… :)

Worse time I had to write this, I have to work better on the development…sigh… Never mind, I have plenty of time right now! I'm off to gather more ideas!


	14. AN

**Author's Notes  
**

While I'm sorry to disappoint you for this supposed 'chapter', I do feel that a note is sufficient to update anyone that's wondering what in the world is taking so long for me to update this story. I'll just lay it out straight.

I'm having second thoughts in regards to this story. Ergo, the possibility of finishing this story is very, very slim.

Call me lazy, but I'm just feeling peeved at the entire story. It's in a pretty disgusting state to me... *sheepish grin*

I'm still toying with the idea of completely revamping the entire thing. I'm not sure about you, but I do feel that the entire story is putting Sasuke in an extremely... off light.

Thank you to those that have reviewed & read this story, I do feel that I've disappointed you guys a lot, but I can't continue something that has a weak foundation from the start. If it wasn't for you reviewers too, I wouldn't have even toyed with the idea of revamping it, I would've just abandoned the entire Naruto fandom :)

I'll just be listing down & replying to the following people now.

* * *

Thank you KrazyBaconBaconBits :) I'm actually glad that I've entertained you with this silly story =D

Thank you katexleon. I'm really sorry to disappoint, really I am, but I'll be sure to return to Naruto fandoms as soon as I can! =) Hopefully with better OCs and more original plots!

Thank you ! Haha, I wouldn't say the best =) You just have to dig deeper and filter through to find the really awesome ones!

Thank you Peachie-Trishie! If I ever start a new Sasuke fanfic, it'll definitely be the credit of really sweet reviewers like you guys =)

Thank you Takakuma! Ahh, guilty as charged =) But I'll come back with something better!... if I can start on it that is. Heh

Thank you shadow-ninja44! This is the last 'update', but I hope that I'll be able to come up with something new next time =)

Thank you Rayen 'Tora' King! Lol, unfortunately, the only chance I'll continue this is when I'm re-editing everything from scratch =D Thank you for the support though!

Thank you steel-alchemist! I really apologise for leaving things hanging, but I hope inspiration for this arena will strike in the near future =D I lost touch with all the characters to re-enter the zone. Sigh.

Thank you XCrissCrossX! As much as I hate to say, I'll have to let this story die away =( But if I ever start a new one, I'll be sure to make it a better Sasuke Fanfic! =)

_The following are special reviewers that have stuck with me & this shitty fic for quite a while now..._

Thank you imm0rtal! How can I ever forget my first, ever reviewer =D I do feel guilty of leaving things hanging, but I hope you understand =) Thanks for always leaving a review since the very beginning, if you are reading this!

Thank you ani-sand! Well, if you're reading this (since it's been too long), thanks for sticking with me for so long and always making an effort to review =D Believe it or not, I do remember it, very vividly too!

Thank you OpaquexSmiles! I will always remember this username with that display picture =D & the user being the one that leaves the longest and most motivating reviews for this lousy story =)! Thanks for sticking with the story!

Thank you kibafangirl11! I remembered receiving quite a number of reviews from the same user when you made an effort to review it all at once. Lol =D Thanks for that too! It was really sweet =)

Thank you unknown player! Not sure how many people are actually still reading this, but I'll thank you anyways! For sticking around for so long in the past! Really appreciate all the reviews you left!

Thank you EggrollPerson! I think what'll stick in my mind always is the fact that you left reviews with 'the weirdo that always reviews'! Thanks for the really entertaining reviews that made me laugh!

Thank you NyNyWorldWide! You've changed user name huh? =D Well, thanks for the reviews you made an effort to leave for this story! Though I'm not sure but still, I'm really hoping you read this!

Thank you 13Lulu's! But hey, at least I'm updating at the other series in my homepage =) That one will not get abandoned I swear!

& thank you for reading this story readers =)

Broken Bonds RIP


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